WhyteRayne
by metalspike
Summary: Meet Syaoran Li,the lead of the collegeband WhyteRayne,Eriol the drummer and silent playboy of the college and others as they aim at the International College Band title.But a twist of romance occurs,does it make or break their dreams? SxS ON HIATUS!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, hey! My second fic! Not that my first one is over, but this one is definitely different. I hope you like it as it will turn out to have some 'musical' parts in the later chapters. So please do read and review :)**

**DISCLAIMER (FOR ALL CHAPTERS): CCS is owned by CLAMP so I just took their characters but the story is mine. **

* * *

**WhyteRayne**

**Chapter:1**

The sun peeps through a window into a messy room, stuff like clothes, books, CDs and what not littered all around the room. The clock under the desk shows the time as half past six. The occupant or rather occupants which include a dark blue haired young boy and a blond young girl are seen sleeping on the bed….on top of each other. Both have a relaxed expression on their face. Hmm…seems like they had a good night. Peace all around the room as the couple dreams on together.

***Thud***

Oh what was that?

***Thump* *Thud***

The sound's coming from the door.

***Thump*Thud*Thud***

What a racket in the early morning! Atleast our sleeping twosome are not disturbed yet.

***Thump*Thud*Thud*……….**

Ahhh…things seem to be calming down….

***BAAAAMMMM***

Oh my….looks like I spoke too soon.

The boy stirred on the bed, but was still not awake.

"Eriol! Wake up! Get out of my room **NOW!**"

Looks like the guy outside is really pissed.

The boy, Eriol, sat up in the bed, pushing the girl's thigh off him. Hmm…he just has his blue boxers on.

"Eriol, **WAKE UP**!"

Eriol finally came to his senses and jumped out of the bed. He ran to the door and opened it by a crack to peep outside.

His sight was welcomed by a young boy with chocolate brown hair and amber eyes who was a bit taller than him and his brows knitted in fury.

"If the silent playboy has had his fill would he mind exiting my room?" the boy outside spoke."…with that girl." He added.

Eriol grinned and opened the door a bit wider.

"Oh c'mon Li don't spoil it in the morning!"

"I don't care! Jus' leave my **room**!" Li spoke back.

"Ok, okay, I'm leaving now but what's the rush, Syaoran?"

"I'm moving back to my house today."

"And why so? Wouldn't it be better if you stayed in your home and allowed me to use your college room?"

"So that you can turn it into a love hotel room? No thanks but I'll pass."

Eriol's grin widened.

"Fine, I was just trying."

With that Eriol walked back, shook the girl awake and started getting dressed.

Syaoran sighed as he waited for him to come out. So lets learn about the story from him.

_Umm…so as you would have realized that I'm Syaoran Li and I'm a student in Tokyo University. I actually am from Hong Kong but I spent most of my childhood in Japan. Eriol is, if you could stretch it, sort of my best friend. On the first look he looks like a nice, kind, soft spoken and a straightforward guy. All in all a refined boy. Ha, refined and Eriol! Looks can be deceiving is very much true in his case. Why, he is the silent playboy of our college and this fact is known only by a few people close to him, like me. I never met a guy with a sexual appetite like his. He managed to have 'fun' for 7 straight nights in a week. His justification….'Never waste an opportunity'. So he has his fun mostly in my college room. You would ask why, but I'm forced in a way. Believe it or not but he is the best in the year and add to that his deceiving looks which makes him the pet of every teacher. So I need him for homework, getting away from a teacher, in the exams etc. etc. and he apparently doesn't want to lose his reputation so he makes use of my room to cover up. Oh ya and he's also the drummer and the techno-tweaking guy of our band which makes him an indispensible member of the band. Our band…Oh I didn't tell about it. Well I'm actually the lead singer of our band which consists of my old school mates: Yamazaki who is our bassist, Eriol who is our drummer, pianist and provides the other sound effects, Fay is our lead guitarist sometimes aided by me and Tomoyo used to be our female lead….that was until Eriol messed it up with her. We are aiming at the international college band regionals which will take place at the end of the year but right now we're in search of a replacement for Tomoyo._

Presently, Eriol walked out, his glasses on, followed by the blond girl who checked out if the coast was clear and bolted back to her room.

Eriol still had his grin on which was annoying Syaoran.

"I hope you remember what's up for today evening." Syaoran asked, trying to keep his voice under control.

"And what was that?" Eriol replied, visibly pleased to see Syaoran annoyed.

"The meeting at my house, with all the members and Tomoyo." Syaoran replied through clenched teeth.

"Ah that…I'll be there." And with that Eriol walked back towards his room leaving Syaoran with his fists all balled up.

Syaoran sighed deeply and went inside to start packing.

* * *

At 9am Syaoran walked back into the college campus after sorting out his stuff at his house and headed to his class and settled into his seat. He was known to be the rich, spoilt brat thanks to his rude behavior. Well they are right about the rich part. Syaoran's family owns Li Corporation, a multi-billion dollar company spread all over Asia and many other parts of the world. Well he isn't the only rich guy, Eriol's father too is a big businessman in England but his is not as big as the Li's. So the day dragged on with nothing happening other than the usual lecture which Syaoran got from his Physics teacher about making Eriol his role model.

In the evening, the four boys met next to the basketball court.

"Yo Li, how's it going?" A boy with short black hair beckoned at him. Beside him was a tall boy with messy blond hair and blue eyes.

"Hey Yamazaki! Hi Fay!" Syaoran responded, Eriol standing next to him.

"So guys you all know about the meeting, right?" Syaoran asked.

"Ya we know."

Syaoran turned to Fay,

"You managed to convince her?"

"She was reluctant but finally she gave in." Fay replied. He then smiled and added," She can't say no to me. No one ever has."

"And that's why I asked you." Syaoran replied.

He then faced Eriol,

"You are not going to do anything to her, okay. Just speak when its necessary. Don't try to get to close." Syaoran spoke in a firm voice.

"You got it."

Then with one sweeping look on everyone, Syaoran said

"Well guys then be there at 7 today at my house and if everything works well then we'll be having our second lead singer and be practicing tomorrow this time."

And then with a high five with everyone, they broke apart. Syaoran headed towards his home when he suddenly realized something. He ran back and jumped in Eriol's way.

"Why Syaoran, something wrong?"

Syaoran pushed his hand inside Eriol's pockets and pulled out a key.

"This is what is wrong. My room's spare key."

Eriol just chuckled.

"Nothing gets past you, right? Looks like no more fun for me for a few days."

"Its time we focused on our music. See ya later."

And with that Syaoran walked away with his room's key in his hand.

_I hope that everything goes on well. If Tomoyo co-operates a big hurdle would be gone._

With that thought Syaoran headed to his home.

* * *

**So how was it? I don't have anything to say but if you felt that it was okay then please do review!**

**msé~**


	2. Chapter 2

**WhyteRayne**

**Chapter:2**

* * *

Syaoran was sitting on the couch, twiddling his thumbs. He cast a glance around the room and noticed Eriol's and Yamazaki's expression. Yamazaki looked back at him, expectantly.

"So, umm… any news from Fay?" Yamazaki asked.

"Well the last time I asked he told that he was at her door step." Syaoran replied.

"Should I go and check out." Eriol said, getting up from his seat.

"NO! Not you. We'll lose any chance of her coming then."

"Aww….C'mon Li, it wasn't as bad as you think."

"You never saw her. She was really hurt y'know."

"But she wanted a proper relationship which I could not possibly give her in that situation."

"And you said that after doing everything. Seriously, were you even thinking?"

Before Eriol could retort the doorbell rang making everyone jump. Syaoran walked to the door of the room and opened it to see Fay standing with a girl, long wavy black hair and blue eyes.

The butler at their side bowed and said,"Li-sama, Flourite-san and Daidouji-san have arrived."

Syaoran nodded and the butler excused himself.

"Hey Li, I guess everyone's here already." Fay spoke.

Syaoran nodded again and turned to the girl.

"Good to see you, Tomoyo."

"Good to see you too, Li-kun." Tomoyo replied n a sweet, melodic voice.

"Now c'mon, what's up with all these formalities?"

Tomoyo gave a slight giggle. Syaoran led the two in and they all sat, looking at each other.

**2 mins later**

All are still staring at each other, unable to start the conversation.

"Umm… are we having a staring competition?" Tomoyo spoke, breaking the silence.

Syaoran breathed in deeply and finally started,

"Tomoyo, I think you know why we all are here."

Tomoyo nodded.

"And what do you have to say?" Syaoran further spoke.

Tomoyo sighed,

"I already told you Syaoran and I repeat it again 'I Won't Be Coming Back' and that's final!"

"But what about our band? We need a female lead!" Yamazaki spoke with others nodding in support.

"Look I can't help it but until 'He' stays," she spoke jerking her thumb towards Eriol," I just can't come back and I know that finding a replacement for him is practically impossible."

"And finding a replacement for you?"

Tomoyo gave a hollow laugh.

"Really, Syaoran, it can't be that difficult to find another female singer."

"Then why don't you find us one." Syaoran retorted.

Silence stretched and everyone's eyes wavered from Tomoyo to Syaoran and back.

"I…" Tomoyo began

"Surely, as you state, its not a difficult task so you can atleast do that for us." Syaoran cut in," as a friend." He quickly added so as to not sound rude.

Tomoyo bit her lower lip, thinking.

After almost a minute Tomoyo finally spoke,

"Fine!"

"Hunh…?"

"I said 'Fine'. I'll find a singer for you."

"Not any singer but a replacement for you." Syaoran said

Tomoyo just rolled her eyes.

"Okay, I'll find you a 'replacement' for me."

"And just how are you going to do that?" Eriol spoke for the first time.

Tomoyo replied as if the voice came from nowhere,

"I'll choose one and then ask her to sing in front of you guys. You'll be the final judge."

Syaoran looked around,

"Does anyone have any objections?"

They all shook their heads.

"That's done. So you choose and we judge."

Tomoyo firmly nodded.

Fay noticed this and asked,

"You do look very confident about this."

She just smiled lightly and replied,

"Oh yes I'm confident. Because if I'm right then the very first person I show will be chosen."

And with that she made a mental note of meeting that person as soon as she left.

* * *

An auburn haired girl stretched her arms in her room. Apparently she had finished her day's assignment. With a yawn, she got up, scratched her head and went across the room to open the windows, French windows to be specific and stepped out into the balcony. In front there was a huge garden with rolling grass, fruit trees and flowers of every kind. The girl breathed deeply into the scent and stood next to her favorite tree, a cherry blossom tree which grew next to her balcony. Lost in her thoughts she hummed a soft tune. But behind her a shadowy figure was lurking around, waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce on her. The figure moved forward but stopped at the sound of humming from the girl. Few minutes later, the figure resumed its approach towards the girl and stood behind her, ready to jump…..

"Tomoyo-chan, the trick's getting old. Come up with something new." The girl suddenly spoke and turned around to look at her friend.

Tomoyo stomped her foot.

"Gahh, I was sooo close."

"But I already knew." The girl replied.

"Oh c'mon Sakura, don't lie. You realized it only when I was standing just behind you."

"Fine, fine, you win." Sakura said, shaking her arms. She then led her friend inside and both of them sat on her bed.

"So what bring you here?" Sakura asked.

"Can't I just visit my best friend?"

"No, not like that. I was just asking." Sakura hurriedly spoke back, afraid that she might have offended her friend.

"So c'mon let's try out the new dresses I got for you." With that Tomoyo threw a bag at Sakura.

"Oh no…." Sakura groaned.

_Gotta find a way out…._Sakura thought, desperately.

"Oh Tomoyo-chan, I was wondering what happened at that meeting of yours?"

Tomoyo became still,

"They wanted me back but I said no…"

"And…" Sakura asked, feeling that there was some more to it.

"Then they asked me to search for a replacement and I agreed."

"You agreed….? But how are you gonna find one?"

"Ahhh...my only reason to come her was not these clothes alone." Tomoyo replied with a glint in her eyes.

"Oh no….no" Sakura said

"Oh yes….yes" Tomoyo teased back.

"Tomoyo-chan, I'm never going to sing. I don't even know how to." Sakura fought back.

"You are a natural." Tomoyo said remembering her soft humming from before." With a little help from me you will be perfect."

"NO Tomoyo-chan! I won't sing and no one can make me change my mind."

* * *

Next day, Sakura walked behind Tomoyo down the corridors of TU (Tokyo University). Well….. More precisely sleep walking. Her eyes were half closed and she bumped many times. Tomoyo had to hold her hand and drag her. It had been tough making excuses for Sakura's 'sleepiness' in front of the teachers and Tomoyo had to come up with some really lame ones like 'She hurt her toe and couldn't sleep the whole night'. Tomoyo knew she was partly…..okay, almost fully to be blamed for Sakura's condition. She had kept her all night up making her practice and occasionally teach her.

_Ha…and she said that no one could change her mind…._Tomoyo thought.

She dragged Sakura into her limo told the driver the destination. The car moved smoothly and Tomoyo tried waking Sakura up. Finally when shaking, slapping, pinching, pulling her hair failed she pulled out her water bottle and emptied it on her head. It worked!

_Ahh…now that's what I like. Instantaneous results!_

Sakura shrieked when the cold water was splashed on her and know she sat glaring at Tomoyo, her brows all knitted up in fury.

"What was that for!?" Sakura demanded.

"Wake up call." Tomoyo coolly replied. Then she offered Sakura a fresh pair of clothes which she snatched and moved into the next compartment to change. There were advantages of having a limo!

Soon the limo drew up in front of a house…..scratch that, a huge house…..no, a big mansion with an equally large garden in front.

Sakura stared at it.

_Its almost as big as mine or Tomoyo's house._

She turned to Tomoyo,

"Who lives in this house?" She asked.

"This is Syaoran's house."

"Syaoran? As in Syaoran Li?"

"Right."

"So he and his family live here." Sakura concluded.

"Err…no. Syaoran's family lives in Hong Kong. He lives alone."

Sakura's eyes went wide.

"You mean that this whole mansion belongs to him."

Tomoyo nodded,

"Well Li Corp. is easily larger then Daidouji Toys Co. or Kinomoto Tech. so it is pretty much understandable that he has such a mansion to himself."

With that the two girls stepped out and walked up to the door where the butler welcomed and took them to a large room. Inside the room they noticed 4 guys sitting. The one in the middle, chocolate brown hair guy got up and welcomed them.

"Ahh…Tomoyo so you managed to get a candidate within a day."

Tomoyo just smiled and led Sakura to the center of the room. The other guys too stood up. Tomoyo started with their introductions

"This is Takashi Yamazaki…" Tomoyo said pointing at short black haired boy.

"…Fay Flourite…" pointing at the blond guy.

"…and Syaoran Li…" pointing at the amber eyed guy.

Tomoyo deliberately skipped Eriol which made him smirk.

"Ahhh…Daidouji-san it hurts to see you ignoring me like this. Well I'll have to introduce myself, I'm Eriol Hiiragizawa."

Tomoyo remained unmoved.

Sakura moved forward and bowed to the three in front of her. Mannerism was something well taught in her family.

"I'm Sakura Kinomoto and I'm Tomoyo's best friend."

She turned around to acknowledge Syaoran who just stuck out his hand. Sakura shook it while keeping her eyes at his face.

_He is …….different……_

Lost in her thoughts Sakura's hand remained in Syaoran's

"Umm….I think that's enough." He said.

Sakura finally noticed and hastily pulled her hand back, apologizing.

"So now Sakura-san, if you don't mind could you sing for us." Syaoran said.

Sakura felt nervous and looked towards Tomoyo who gave her a reassuring nod. Syaoran went back and took his seat.

"I-I'll be singing Love Story by Taylor Swift." Sakura hesitantly spoke. The others nodded.

She began the song, staring at the painting on the wall in front but two lines into the song and she stuttered.

"Try again…" Syaoran immediately said.

Sakura nodded nervously.

She started the song again, this time her eyes on her feet but she again failed.

Syaoran sighed,

"Please don't be nervous. Focus on something with which you can relate the song." He said.

Sakura once again nodded and this time she began singing while looking straight at Syaoran's face.

_…………Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone  
I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run  
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess  
It's a love story baby just say yes…………_

_…………Romeo save me, they try to tell me how to feel_  
_This love is difficult, but it's real_  
_Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess_  
_It's a love story baby just say yes……………………_

"Just say yes……" Sakura softly added.

"……Yes." Syaoran replied.

* * *

**That was chapter two. Sakura and Syaoran meet for the first time and Sakura almost makes a hidden love declaration! Well as a disclaimer the song lyrics are a part of the song LoveStory by Taylor Swift. Hope you liked it and please review! :) **

**msé~**


	3. Chapter 3

**WhyteRayne**

**Chapter:3**

Sakura and Syaoran continued staring at each other while the rest stared at them. It had been a minute since the song had ended and no one had spoken a single word. Tomoyo, as usual, decided to break the silence,

"Well you sure are a big fan of the staring game, Syaoran. You managed to get Sakura into it too."

The two turned their heads towards her and blinked.

"Umm…would you mind explaining your 'yes'?" Yamazaki spoke while shaking Syaoran, who just turned towards him and blinked again.

"Isn't it obvious? Syaoran agreed to Sakura's plea, he's gonna be her Romeo. Just imagine, 'Syaoran and Sakura' doesn't it sound like 'Romeo and Juliet'." Eriol said, chuckling.

At this Syaoran snapped back and delivered a glancing blow to him which did nothing to stop his laughter, on the contrary the others joined him too.

"Idiot"

Sakura's face was tomato red and she had never felt as embarrassed as this before.

"Look you guys, I liked her singing and said yes for that." Syaoran explained.

"Yeah right" Yamazaki spoke between giggles.

Syaoran got up and bellowed,

"Stop it guys, be serious. This is important."

He waited till the giggles died down and then spoke,

"Well now we should assess her singing."

The boys nodded.

"According to me Sakura has an overall nice voice. She does lack the sweetness of Tomoyo but her pitch modulation and range is better."

"I like her." Yamazaki spoke.

"Ahh…should I tell this to Chiharu?" Tomoyo said with a sly grin.

"N-No, I meant I like her singing." Yamazaki hastily corrected his sentence.

Syaoran just rolled his eyes and turned to Eriol who said,

"Not as good as our dear Tomoyo but she would do."

Tomoyo stiffened a bit at the remark but let it pass.

Finally Fay spoke,

"I agree with Syaoran. You may not be like Tomoyo but that doesn't mean that you are not good. You'll make a great singer, only a bit of fine tuning is required."

Sakura nodded at each of their comments. She felt like she was in a courtroom, awaiting the final verdict.

"So whats your call?" Tomoyo asked, looking at Syaoran.

"I think its pretty obvious. After everyone's comments we have decided that…." He paused.

"What's your decision?" Sakura nervously asked, feeling impatient.

"We have decided to take you in." Syaoran completed.

Sakura just stared back.

Blink. Blink.

"I'm…..in…?"

When Tomoyo squealed and glomped her, that's when it sank into her.

"You did it! I knew you would be chosen." Tomoyo chortled, hugging Sakura and jumping at the same time.

Sakura, unable to speak anything, just smiled broadly.

Finally when things calmed down Syaoran walked up to Sakura, stretched out his hand and said,

"Welcome to our band, Sakura. Welcome to WhyteRayne"

Sakura hesitantly shook his hand.

"I hope you don't mind me calling you by your first name. Its just that Kinomoto sounds a bit…….big."

"I-Its okay, Li-san."

"Ah, now I won't be unfair. You too can call me by my first name."

Sakura just gave a tiny nod.

* * *

Back to Kinomoto manor, Tomoyo decided to spend another night at Sakura's. After dinner the two girls sat in Sakura's room and began gossiping,

"So what do you think?" Tomoyo asked

"About what?" Sakura asked back, confused.

"Duh…about them and the band."

"Oh that…. Well….I don't know. They look okay at the first sight especially Sya- I mean Li, he isn't like a spoilt brat. And the others seem decent as well."

"Hmm…maybe I should give you some info about their personas." With that Tomoyo jumped off the bed, grabbed a blank paper and pretended to read it.

She cleared her throat and started,

"The Members of the Band WhyteRayne:

Lets start with their bassist, Takashi Yamazaki-

He is one nutty guy, fond of making stories about anything and can hardly remain serious. Misses things right under his nose. Beware; he can cook up stuff which seems realistic to many people, mostly the gullible ones.

Music Style- He loooves hard rock. Is often whacked on the head for messing up. Usually the cause of any mix-up in the genre selection.

Relationships- Stuck to Chiharu and so is she. Never dated anyone else and you can stretch it a bit to say that both love each other. She is the _only _one who can control him.

Bottom-line- Overall a nice guy, with a few screws missing. The clown of the band, the gossip and the best person to waste your time with.

Moving on to the lead guitarist, Fay Flourite-

The serious guy. He is kind and sweet and has an uncanny ability to always have his way with others. He is the wisest guy and any questions, ask him. The others wouldn't help you at all.

Music Style- Weird. No, I'm serious. He likes distortion too much causing him to be sometimes replaced by Syaoran as the lead guitarist. Also he is the one who suggests the synth sounds which, at times are plain, flat Horrible! And he provides the backing vocals.

Relationships- Not seriously into any but is known to be quite a gentleman.

Bottom-line- The only helpful guy in the band and the only one who has something in the top chamber. The rest have mulch in their heads.

Next is their drummer………..M*F*ing Bastard…."

Sakura was at a loss at how to react, in the end she just let Tomoyo continue.

"….a.k.a Eriol Hiiragizawa-

He sucks, don't get close to him. The moment he sees you he strips you in his mind. Avoid any contact; don't even allow him to touch you.

Music Style- Unfortunately he has the best music sense and does most of the, y'know, 'production' job. Plays the drums, piano, does the music tweaking job and editing.

Relationships- Please! Don't make me barf.

Bottom-line- Treat him like a pile of guano, that's the best he deserves.

Now for the lead singer, Syaoran Liiiiii-"

Sakura sweat dropped,

_What was that for…….?_

"So Syaoran is sort of the founder of the band. He recruited all the members, suggested the name and did a lot of stuff for the band. He may seem like a rude, arrogant ass but actually he's kind and soft inside. But the cardinal rule with him 'is be good to him else he _can _turn evil'.

Music Style- Don't know. Goes with the majority choice.

Relationships- Don't know. Haven't seen him in a relation with anybody.

Bottom-line- Don't know……I mean he's a good guy, quite introvert, a bit of a hot head, can be really sweet at times. Best if you stick a sticker on his back saying 'Fragile: Handle with CARE'…..not literally, just keep it in your mind.

Bottom-line about the band: You gotta be nuts to join this band……….nah, jus' kidding. Actually it's a great band and I left it only because of the asshole I mentioned before Syaoran. Got ambitions and, I know you won't believe it now but they're capable of going way past their ambitions…….done. Now I must call Syaoran for my million bucks for saying all this crap."

Sakura giggled. That was one long bio data of the band.

* * *

It was the evening after college next day and the band and Tomoyo had met at Syaoran's house. It was the first time Sakura was going to sing with actual instruments. Turns out that she too knows how to play a (acoustic) guitar, hmm…. becoming quite a common thing nowadays. The session went on without any hiccups, which surprised Sakura. It was just too good to be true. The troupe decided to take a break and within instant bottles of beer appeared. Yamazaki tossed each of them, other than Sakura and Tomoyo, a bottle. That's when things got a bit off track. Yamazaki, being the bumbling idiot he is, managed to throw Syaoran's bottle 7 feet away from him, to catch which he had to do a diving jump and caught it with his left hand. Everything's fine till now but check out his right hand. Syaoran's right hand hit the pointy edge of the table and now had a gash across his palm.

Syaoran cursed clutching his bleeding hand. The others huddled around him with Yamazaki muttering apologies.

"Can't you for once use those stupid excuses for eyes you possess?" Syaoran hissed.

The others murmured but Sakura's eyes were fixed on the wound.

Something dawned upon her and she pulled out the sash around neck and wiped the blood.

"Looks like atleast someone has sense." Syaoran muttered, twitching in pain at times.

Sakura continued, not hearing him while the others just watched them.

And then….

She lowered her head and….planted a kiss on the wound.

Everyone, including Syaoran gaped at her.

Sakura lifted her head; blood smeared on her lips, and gave them back an innocent look.

"What….? I just kissed his boo-boo to make him feel better."

This coming from a kid is fine but coming from an 18yr old, well….not acceptable.

* * *

**Ha ha, a boo-boo kiss, thats what _you_ say Sakura. Anyways all I have to say is that please, please review. Tell me anything you feel about it, tell me its good, tell me its bad, tell me its enough, tell me to go on but just tell me, okay?**

**msé~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Heh, really quick update by me. But anyways if you like it, do tell me (and others if you can). ;) **

**WhyteRayne**

**Chapter:4**

Syaoran's eyes were focused on his palm, his mouth hinged open while Sakura just gazed at his face. Silence surrounded them as the others watched them, surprised especially Tomoyo whose eyes were wide and jaw on the floor. And as always she decided to break the silence,

"Sakura, how old are you?"

Sakura turned her head and answered,

"Umm…18."

"WRONG, well maybe physically but not from up there." Tomoyo snapped back, tapping Sakura on the head." And wipe the blood of your lips lest you want people to take you for a vampire." She added.

"Hey….what's wrong? I just did that to make him feel better." Sakura protested, absent-mindedly wiping her lips with her sash and making her face even more bloody.

Syaoran looked up and sighed. Then he pulled out his kerchief and started wiping the blood off Sakura's face, which surprised her and the others.

Okay….so they jaw dropped again.

"What….? She had blood on her face and I just wiped it. It was the least I could do after all she was the only one who tended to my wound."

The last sentence hit home and the boys scampered away to find the First-Aid kit, but Tomoyo stood there and was…..videotaping.

"Aww….Kawaii….that was sooo cute of you Syaoran." She squealed.

Removing the camera from her face she looked at them and blinked, thinking something.

"What….?" Both Sakura and Syaoran asked in unison.

"I was just wondering…..are you both…."

"What the Heck! No, there is nothing like that." Syaoran cut her, while Sakura continued blushing.

Tomoyo just giggled.

"Syaoran, I was gonna ask if you two are kids in disguise but you thought otherwise. Guilty conscience, eh? So something _is up."_

"N-No Tomoyo-chan…" Sakura stuttered.

Out of nowhere Eriol poked his head into the room and said,

"Syaoran, kiss her with blood on the lips. You'll be bonded by blood then and it'll be really sexy."

"FUCK OFF!" Syaoran shot back, searching for something to throw at Eriol but was unable to find it. So Eriol just chuckled away.

Sakura's face was burning red. She looked away, trying to hide her blush.

"S-Sorry about that. Eriol is just….that kind of a guy." Syaoran tried explaining.

Fay entered, holding the first-aid box and with his signature smile on. Guess Eriol shared the joke with them as well.

After dressing Syaoran's wound the gang moved to another room and placed themselves on the couches.

"Since Syaoran is injured, I guess no more practice." Yamazaki said, pumping his fist in the air.

"Oy, shit-brain you are the cause of this. I'm NOT gonna let you off the hook." Syaoran snapped back to which Yamazaki groaned.

"Hey guys, chill. Lets chat a bit to even out the mood." Tomoyo suggested.

"Chat about what?" Yamazaki asked Tomoyo.

"Hmm…I'll ask a question. What is the most important thing for you in life? You all must answer."

Eriol jumped up and answered,

"Me and my body."

"Thought so…" Syaoran flatly commented.

"For me its Chiharu." Yamazaki gleefully answered.

Tomoyo 'ooh'ed.

"I guess my tattoo is the most important thing for me." Fay answered.

"Tattoo…?" Sakura said, astonished.

"Believe me. This guy is obsessed with the tattoo on his back. It's a phoenix tattoo and he applies some special oil on it every week." Syaoran replied for Fay.

"But why…?" Sakura asked.

Flashing his broad smile he answered,

"It's a secret."

Tomoyo rolled her eyes,

"Well I'll answer, for me its making clothes for Sakura-chan."

Sakura face crashed while the rest sweat dropped.

"Hey, no fair. What's with that reaction?" Tomoyo pouted.

"Ahh…nothing. Okay now its Syaoran's turn." Fay spoke.

"Nothing." He flatly replied.

Blink. Blink. Blink

"I mean I still haven't found the _most_ important thing, simple."

"Uhh…okay. Now, Sakura"

"For me, its family and friends. Nothing can replace them." Sakura replied.

"But someone can surely be added." Tomoyo said, cocking her eyebrow.

"Well…maybe. If I find that special someone than maybe…"

Everyone fell silent and almost after a minute they jumped out of their skin when Yamazaki's phone rang, snapping them back to the real world.

Yamazaki answered it, spoke a few words, slapped his head and flipped the phone close.

"Guys, I'm dead! I was supposed to take Chiharu to a fashion show half an hour ago! She's really mad at me so gotta scram." With that he ran out.

The rest just gaped at the ajar door. Fay then got up,

"Guess we should leave as well. Take care Syaoran."

And the rest too exited. Syaoran leaned back and sighed, reflecting on the happenings,

_I guess it was odd, me wiping Sakura's face but she did kiss my wound to make it feel better and ………..it does feel better._

Syaoran shook his head and went to his room.

* * *

Sakura reached home but noticed that most of the house lights were off. Tomoyo joined her as they went inside to check out. They entered Sakura's room and found something written on the white board.

'Sakura dear,

I and Touya have to go to Kyoto for a couple of days, if you wish you may stay at your friend, Tomoyo's house. Will inform you if any other changes occur.

Love you

Dad'

Tomoyo squealed and glomped Sakura,

"You're gonna be at my house and I can make you try so many dresses. Yay!"

Sakura mentally groaned. That was the only part she detested.

"Oh and you know I finally sent my designs for the Cosmopolitan Fashion Search and if I win it I will get a 1 year contract as a fashion designer."

"That's great, Tomoyo-chan. I'm sure your designs will take them by a storm."

"That's why I wanna check them by making you wear them. Oh oh…I almost forgot, did you know we're having the Prom night next month."

"So….?"

"Silly, I've to design a dress for you."

_Oh no….._

"I'm not gonna come!"

"We'll see..." Tomoyo slyly replied.

* * *

Couple of weeks passed by and life was going well for our troupe. They regularly practiced after college and had decided on what they would be performing for the college selection round which was to take place that Friday.

"Okay people, this is the final week and we have to be perfect so no dilly dallying." Syaoran announced and the others nodded.

They remained hard at work for the next few days and after Friday college they had one final meeting at Syaoran's house. They were supposed to report at 7:00PM.

"Guys, listen up. This is our first step and we should make this a firm one. No gaffe's on the stage and if anybody messes up there, I'm gonna wring their neck. But of course, you guys have no pressure."

The others sweat dropped.

Tomoyo joined them as their costume designer and had them ready by 6:30. They all entered Syaoran's custom-made Hummer and lest for the venue.

"That's a really pretty necklace there, Sakura." Yamazaki commented.

"Thank you. Its my mother's and is almost priceless to me." Sakura replied.

They soon reached their destination and the band moved backstage after mulling a bit through the crowd.

"You guys will go up after DarkSnow." One of the officials told them and left.

Tomoyo, visibly frustrated due to the crowd spoiling their make-up, started the patch up work.

When she checked Sakura, she felt something missing,

"Sakura, where's your necklace?"

Sakura felt her neck and then let out a shriek,

"Its gone! Oh my god….its gone. Tomoyo, help! The necklace…..its gone."

"You must have missed it in the crowd." Fay said.

Sakura fell on her knees and started crying bitterly.

"There's no way we can find if its lost in the crowd." Yamazaki said.

Tomoyo patted Sakura and tried consoling her, the others joined her as well. But Syaoran just stared at Sakura. Then he walked out of the dressing room, calling somebody on the cellphone.

It took some time for Sakura to calm down and the others relaxed a bit.

"That's better…. Now we're all set. Wait….where's Syaoran?"

They searched around but found him nowhere. The band started panicking and then,

'And now the next band coming up to rock you all iiiisssss, DarkSnow…'

The group gave each other a nervous look,

"We're up next…."

"Shit…"

* * *

**OMG, where has Syaoran gone?**

**Anyways,Thanks for the reviews. This chapter was ready before but I just wanted to know your thoughts about the story before I continued. Also please can you help me out with a beta. Thanks for reading and do review.**

**mse~**


	5. Chapter 5

**UPDATE! Yeah, I'm picking up speed (maybe cuz I'm the editor of my own story :P). Okay so as always if you like the chapter, review, review, reviews! **

**WhyteRayne**

**Chapter:5**

* * *

Panic ran through the group as Syaoran went missing. They searched everywhere, in the dressing room, in the men's restroom, in the women's restroom (just in case…), under the couch, behind the instrument rack, under a lady's long flowing dress (but found Eriol there…) and Yamazaki even tapped the floor to check if he was hiding underground, but no tried his cellphone but he didn't answer it. Tension was high and there seemed no way out, at least to them.

"Where has that bummer gone?" Fay said, showing his rare frustrated look.

"You lose a necklace, that is quite understandable but you just don't lose your lead singer!" Tomoyo exclaimed.

***Click* **

They turned their heads to the door to see a guy with chocolate brown hair closing the door.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" they all bawled at the same time.

"Whoa, chill out guys. No killing allowed." Syaoran said, waving a brown pack, "this is what I had gone for."

"And what exactly is that?" Fay said, regaining his control over his voice.

Syaoran walked up to Sakura and held out the pack.

"I presume that you had lost something."

Sakura timidly took the pack and opened it.

"Oh my…" Sakura's eyes popped out. There sat her precious necklace, unscathed and perfect.

Tears welled up in her eyes,

"Thank you, oh thank you soo much!"

And with that she leapt on Syaoran and hugged him with all her might. At first he was stunned, but he returned back the hug. The band looked at them, each with a funny smile.

Sakura's emotions were overflowing; she didn't know that the necklace was so important. Actually she was certain that the necklace isn't the only cause of her emotional overdrive, but she let herself flow with them.

Sakura raised her head away from him and gazed into his eyes….

She than tip-toed….

Her nose a few centimeters from his cheek….

Syaoran could feel her breath and was paralyzed….

And then….

Her lips touched his cheek and a shiver ran down his spine.

She moved her lips a bit away, as if she had been taste-testing and realizing that she liked it pressed her lips once again, this time with more pressure.

The gang had their hatches wide open,

"Uh Hmm" Tomoyo cleared her throat.

Sakura moved away and Syaoran gaped at her.

"I'm sure Syaoran didn't have a boo-boo _this_ time."

"I-I…Uh…I" Sakura tried saying something but words could not be formed.

Tomoyo grinned slyly,

"I think that was a very nice thank you gift, Sakura."

Both Sakura and Syaoran were blushing.

Tomoyo took the cue and guided Sakura into the dressing room.

"So, umm…how did you find the necklace?" Yamazaki asked, trying to break the tension.

"I didn't." Syaoran replied, regaining his cool demeanor.

"What?"

"I said that I didn't find her necklace."

"But then that….."

"It's a replacement."

"A what….?"

"It's not Sakura's necklace."

"Hunh…."

Syaoran sighed.

"Look guys when Yamazaki commented about Sakura's necklace she turned it around to show it and that's when I noticed that it was from Dior, from the name engraved behind."

"So…"

"So I called up mother's manager and asked her to connect me to the nearest Dior retailer and then I asked them for a platinum necklace with a big emerald pendent and diamonds along the chain. Luckily they had the same one in their 'Old Is Gold' collection so I just bought it."

"And how much was it?"

"Some 2 million yen." Syaoran coolly replied.

The rest blinked at him with jaws all over the floor.

"2-2 m-million…"

"That is around $22000. Well she did mention it was priceless. Guess I got lucky."

"What'll your mother say?"

"I'll tell her it was a gift."

_And he can get away with that….._they thought.

"You guys better shut your trap else a fly might enter."

They finally closed their mouths. Presently, Sakura and Tomoyo walked in. Tomoyo had a wide grin while Sakura was smiling with a twinkle in her eyes.

The crowd outside booed and jeered. Guess DarkSnow was a flop.

'People. People. Calm down! They were not that bad.' The anchor spoke. The crowd calmed down a bit.

'And now lets call upon our next band. From Tokyo University, here come WHYTERAYNE!'

The band took a deep breath. Syaoran turned to them and hurriedly spoke,

"Okay guys, this is it! We guys will go up first and after my solo, it'll be your turn Sakura. Any questions?"

They shook their heads.

"Then lets rock it!"

"YEAHHH!" And with a high five the boys moved to the stage.

The crowd wasn't very impressed by the previous band so it was gonna be a tough job for Syaoran & co.

The boys stepped up and introduced themselves. The crowd, not exactly in a mood for this jeered at them as well.

"Okay calm down guys." Syaoran announced," Now lets start." He then cued behind.

The music began, Eriol started drumming and Fay and Yamazaki joined him. Finally Syaoran started,

It seems so obvious  
there's something up with us  
I smell the feeling  
from across the room.  
So can I ask you this?  
Not to be forward, miss,  
But I think I'll kill myself  
if I never know...

What do I have to do  
to get inside of you?  
To get inside of you?  
Cuz I love the way you move,  
when I'm inside of you.  
When I'm inside of you...

Just ask and I will do  
anything you want me to  
there is no limit  
to how far I will go...  
And I'm sure I can't pretend  
to be a gentlemen...  
But before I began,  
I just gotta know,  
just gotta know....

What do I have to do  
to get inside of you?  
To get inside of you?  
What do I have to do  
to get inside of you?  
To get inside of you?  
Cuz I love the way you move,  
when I'm inside of you.  
When I'm inside of you...  
When I'm inside of you.  
You...  
You...  
You...  
When I'm inside of you...

At the end of the song, Syaoran flinged his jacket to the crowd. The mass burst into cheers and the boys on the stage pumped it up more. All of them had a big smile on their face but Eriol's was the widest, after all he was the one who suggested the song.

"Okay guys, thanks a lot for the cheers but we're not done yet." Syaoran spoke, "We have one more performance. So presenting our beautiful female singer, Sakura!"

Sakura took a deep breath while Tomoyo patted her back in encouragement. She plastered her sweetest smile and walked onto the stage, waving her arm at the crowd.

"Yup, Beautiful. I agree." A guy in the crowd spoke.

"The boy singer's hot too." The girl beside him spoke.

Suddenly, the two of them turned their heads and faced each other,

"What did you say?" They asked each other.

"Humph…"

And the two turned away with their noses in the air.

The guy behind sweat dropped and spoke," Aren't you two an item? You should have your eyes only at each other."

The two ahead just snorted. Oh well….back to the stage.

Sakura introduced herself and she was warmly welcomed by the crowd. Then she signaled back and the guys started the music while Syaoran stood beside,

Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend  
No way, no way, I think you need a new one  
Hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfriend

Hey, hey, you, you, I know that you like me  
No way, no way, you know it's not a secret  
Hey, hey, you, you, I want to be your girlfriend

You're so fine, I want you mine, you're so delicious  
I think about you all the time, you're so addictive  
Don't you know what I can do to make you feel alright?  
Alright, alright, alright

Don't pretend, I think you know I'm precious  
And so yeah, I'm a M*F*ing princess  
I can tell you like me too and you know I'm right  
I'm right, I'm right, I'm right

She's like so whatever  
You could do so much better  
I think we should get together now  
And that's what everybody's talking about

Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend  
No way, no way, I think you need a new one  
Hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfriend

Hey, hey, you, you, I know that you like me  
No way, no way, you know it's not a secret  
Hey, hey, you, you, I want to be your girlfriend……..

All the time while singing Sakura, unintentionally kept pointing at Syaoran and he tried his best to hide his uneasiness. At the end, the crowd went mad and troupe on the stage bowed and thanked them.

"Hey, you saw that? She was hitting on that guy." A girl exclaimed.

"Hey, why not? If I was there I would have done the same." The girl beside her replied and then the two giggled away.

The band returned back stage, each heaving a sigh of relief. Tomoyo squealed and immediately glomped Sakura and then gave Syaoran a hug as well.

"You both were AWESOME. Did you hear the crowd? That was the loudest applause! And next time you two have to do a duet."

They grinned toothily and then Tomoyo turned to the other three,

"You guys have work to do. Both Yamazaki and Fay missed a couple of notes. Luckily it went unnoticed."

The two just nodded their heads, their smile still plastered on their faces.

"And about me?" Eriol coyly asked.

Tomoyo stiffened once again but hearing the softness in his voice she replied,

"You were fine."

Sakura slouched onto the couch,

"I can't believe I pulled it off. I mean, I was sure my knees would give away on the stage."

"You didn't just pull it off, you were really good. But it would have been better if you didn't keep pointing at me." Syaoran said, with a faint smile.

Sakura looked down and blushed,

"Thanks…and sorry about that."

"Its okay…"

The group chatted on as the other bands performed. Finally, about an hour later,

'Alright everyone, I hope you enjoyed this evening.' The anchor said.

"YEAH!" the crowd shouted.

'Well its time for the thing you all had been waiting for. The results! Who'll represent Tokyo in the Zonals?'

The crowd cheered once again while the judges moved onto the stage.

'And now the band who proved themselves the best tonight iissssss….'

The whole place fell silent while the contestants silently prayed. Sakura closed her eyes,

_I know I've messed it up. Syaoran was fabulous but I spoilt it. I….._

'….Metal Slave….'

_NOO……_

* * *

**What the….? They lost! How could that be? Is it all over for WhyteRayne, for Syaoran, for Sakura?**

**Okay, so it looks like our friends stumbled at the very first step. Oh…I almost forgot, Disclaimer- The song sung by Syaoran is a part of 'Inside of You' by Hoobastank and the song by Sakura is a part of 'Girlfriend' by Avril Lavigne. Also I was thinking of asking whether there was too much of song lyrics?**

**So, people if you wanna know what becomes of Syaoran & co. then reviews are the only way. **

**P.S. - All the band members in the story are single, maybe in a relation but no one is married. (I hope that answers Shanaa12's question and about Tomoyo and Eriol you'll have to wait and watch.) **


	6. Chapter 6

**WhyteRayne**

**Chapter:6**

Despair spread through all while the members Metal Slave rejoiced. The crowd applauded, ignoring the solemn faces of the ones who could not make it. Some too stunned to react, some with fake smiles and some glaring. Sakura cupped her mouth with her hands. She felt her eyes dampen. After all the hard work frustration was all they get.

_No… This can't be… This isn't fair… How…? ,_ Sakura's rambled in her thoughts.

She glanced at her band mates and saw Yamazaki with his mouth open and blinking. Eriol and Fay with a grim expression and Syaoran was glaring at his feet, his fists clenched.

And then…

A tear rolled down his nose and trickled down to the floor.

_He's crying…._

It surprised Sakura. She considered Syaoran as an emotionally stable person but now she could see his soft, vulnerable side.

'Its final now, Metal Slave will go into the ICB (International College Band) Zonals!' the anchor announced.

"It was a very, very close competition and it can be said that Metal Salve, sort of, got lucky." One of the judges spoke.

"We were in a fix, two bands performed phenomenally and it was really tough choosing a winner. But Metal Slave scraped through." Another judge said.

'Yes people, the battle was hard fought and one band just managed to prevail. So the runner-up today is WhyteRayne.' The anchor declared.

The crowd cheered and acclaimed.

"Well, atleast we get a consolation." Fay spoke in a low voice.

"That…isn't…enough" Syaoran murmured, his head still low.

Eriol patted him and squeezed his shoulder lightly.

The boys of Metal Slave celebrated on the stage while the others slowly made their way off the stage.

Back in their dressing room, Tomoyo hugged Sakura who sobbed slightly while she gave the rest a sympathetic look.

No one was in the mood to speak so they quietly broke apart and went their own ways.

Tomoyo went along Sakura to drop her home. When they reached their, she rang the doorbell with Sakura standing beside her, sniffling.

The bell was answered by a guy in his mid-20s, tall with jet black hair.

Tomoyo shuffled nervously at the sight of him.

"Uh…Hello, Touya"

But Touya's eyes were fixed on Sakura.

"What Happened?" He demanded.

"Uh…They…kind of…Um…They Lost."

Touya heaved a sigh of relief.

"Oh, so that's it."

"What did you expect?" Tomoyo questioned.

"Nothing." He then turned to Sakura,

"C'mon in kaiju, I don't think you'd like to sleep on the doorstep."

Sakura lifted her head and glared at him with bloodshot eyes, but he ignored it. She slowly walked inside and then Touya shut the door on Tomoyo's face.

_Talk about manners…_

She sighed and then climbed back into her limo.

* * *

Losing a competition was bad but they never thought that being the runner-ups would be worse. Actually if you just lose, you are one among the crowd but being the runner-ups brands you of not being that good enough. Their reputation in TU fell, people sniggered at them and the not-so-friendly ones have a nice time making fun of them. In short, life sucked for them. They had messed up on the very first opportunity and they were getting no help in overcoming. Syaoran rarely spoke and all of them had lost their cheerfulness. Things were at an all-time low.

A few days later, after another disappointing day at college, Syaoran entered his room and slouched on his bed, sighing deeply.

_What went wrong….? Why…? _He wondered for the umpteenth time.

*Triing* *Triiiinnng*

Syaoran pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and flipped it open,

"Hello?"

"Is this Syaoran Li?" Came a female voice.

"Yes?"

"I'm speaking from ICB Tokyo. You're the lead singer of the band WhyteRayne, right?"

"Technically, one of them."

"Anyways, we have an offer to make to you."

"An offer?"

"Your band was 2nd in the college selection which implies that you were the second best."

"So…?"

"Well, we'd like to ask you whether you want to be the lead singer of Metal Slave."

"NO" He replied firmly.

"Are you sure? You're leaving a great opportunity."

"When I say NO, it means NO. But I'll repeat it once again, N-O."

The lady on the other side wasn't exactly impressed,

"Fine, Good day Li-san."

Syaoran tossed his phone across the bed and laid back.

_Leave my band and sing for those losers….NEVER.

* * *

_

"Hmm, so you got a call and they asked you to sing for them." Eriol whispered.

It was the math class next day and Syaoran, who was sitting next to Eriol, had told him about yesterday's phone call.

"Yup, and I obviously refused." He whispered back.

"Not surprising but something else worries me."

"What?"

"Why do they need a lead singer? Don't they alrea…."

"Li, stop disturbing Hiiragizawa." The teacher spoke, his eyes narrowed upon Syaoran.

Syaoran moved away a bit but the teacher wasn't satisfied and shifted his place next to a girl, who for the rest of the class kept dropping her stuff on Syaoran's side just to get some reaction out of him. No wonder he was the first one to bolt out as soon as the bell rang.

Outside, he was soon reunited with Eriol and met Fay and Yamazaki to whom he repeated the phone call incident.

"Hmm, that is odd." Fay said.

"Maybe their lead singer conked out." Yamazaki suggested.

"Very unlikely…."

"Oh well, anyways just inform the girls about this." Syaoran said.

"Girls…?"

Syaoran gave something between a smirk and a sinister smile,

"Tomoyo is almost as good as a member of the band. Thanks to Sakura, she's there in almost every session."

And with that they returned to their classes.

* * *

A few days later the troupe met at Syaoran's house to finally decide upon a contingency plan. They sat around a table and are discussing. Lets check it out….

"Oh-oh and Sakura-chan, this dress I made will suit you perfectly…."

"Ehehe…"

"Guys did you check out the new Fender Guitar?"

"I know, its mind blowing."

"…And then this girl followed me all day long."

"Are you done?"

Okaaayyy, so some very serious planning going on over here.

The phone on the desk starts ringing. Syaoran stands up and goes to pick up the phone.

"Hello."

"Am I speaking to Syaoran Li?" Came a male voice.

"Yes?"

"I'm the coordinator of ICB. You are the lead singer of WhyteRayne, correct?"

"Look, I'm not interested in being their lead singer."

"Ahh, no no. I called up to inform that Metal Slave has broken apart."

"What?"

The others now had their attention on Syaoran,

"Yes, the band fell apart that automatically disqualifies them"

"Then…"

"Since you were the runner-ups, you are now promoted as the winners."

Syaoran was dumbstruck.

"Congratulations! Your band will be going to the ICB Zonals." The voice on the other side continued," You'll be receiving a letter soon."

"R-Really?"

The man chuckled.

"Yes, my friend, really. Now I think its celebration time for you guys, so good luck." And with that he hung the phone.

It almost took a minute for Syaoran to realize that the other person has hung up, he slowly lowered the phone and turned around to see five pairs of eyes glued at him, asking him.

"Well, what was it?"

"We're going."

"What?"

"Metal Slave split, so we're through."

They all sat gaping. Then Yamazaki jumped up and bellowed,

"OH YEAH BABY, WE'RE THE WINNERS! WE'LL BE GOING TO OSAKA!"

The others too jumped up and glomped Syaoran, each one with a wide smile. All was well in their lives now. It was good that they never came up with a cope-up plan; they won't be needing one now.

* * *

**He, heh, I can't let them lose just like that can I? So WhyteRayne go through somehow and are in the next round.**

**Anyways, a short preview of the next chapter:**

_CH-7_

Finally taking her damp eyes off the twinkling sky, she turned around to look at Syaoran and then gasped.

Bathed in moonlight, his face looked soft and had some sort of 'supernatural' fell to it. To her, he almost looked angelic.

He turned his head and saw straight into her eyes.

_His eyes…_

Sakura felt something deep inside her stir.

"Are you okay?" came his voice, which caused Sakura to take in a sharp breath.

She nodded, wiping her eyes.

And then putting on a smile she said,

"I'm okay, thanks for coming."

"It was, sort of my duty tonight. And anyways, this was something very special to you."

She gave a genuine smile this time.

"Y'know, you should be a bit more open, a bit more expressive." He continued.

"You're saying this! You're the one who needs to do that." She spoke back.

He gave her another soft smile and said,

"Alright, we both should open up."

"Then lets do it right now."

"Okay…"

"Hmm…let me ask you something. How do you think I am? What do you connect me to?"

He remained silent for some time and then said,

"A pig, or maybe a guinea pig."

* * *

**Okay done. So that brings us to the end of CH-6. Thanks for the reviews and keep them coming. Nothing much for me to say other than the usual-If you liked it, Review, Review, and Review :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A new month, a new chapter. So Read and review, in a new way. :p**

* * *

**WhyteRayne**

**Chapter:7**

The jubilance which surrounds victory is pretty much understandable when you look at the band but what makes it more special is that after tasting the bitter gourd of loss they are finally treated to the Popsicle of success. The guy on the phone was right, it sure was party time for WhyteRayne and boy did they party hard. So what does partying till 4 in the morning result in? A sloppy next day.

The professors of TU have had their training on how to handle sleepy heads in class. They have a universal solution to it…..The Dean's Room.

So there they stood, all five of them droopy eyed and stooping in the waiting room.

Five…?

Oh ya, Eriol managed to wriggle out by saying that he was up late studying for the exams three months from now. The whole class sweat dropped but when the teacher fell for it and appreciated him, their faces landed on the floor while Eriol coolly walked backed to his seat.

No wonder teachers are dumb… all around the world.

Now back to present time, where Sakura and Tomoyo are slouched over each other with their eyes closed.

Why Sakura doesn't even remember her brother hollering at her when she walked in like a drunkard at 4:30….as if she cares.

Presently, the bell on the assistant's desk rang and she signaled at them to move inside.

After shaking the two girls away, Syaoran carefully led the troupe inside leaving the assistant muttering something, which he was sure were not praises for them.

Inside, they stood in a line staring at the back of a revolving chair behind a large wooden desk. The dean apparently wanted to make a movie-like entry.

So, as expected, the chair twirled revealing its occupant as a red-haired lady in her early thirties. Hmm…quite young to be the Dean of a University.

"Good Morning." She spoke with a slight British accent and smiled at how it aptly applied to the situation.

"Good Morning, Ms. Mizuki." They mumbled back.

She picked up the paper in front of her,

"You all are here for being inattentive in class, right?"

_Yup, we all were sleeping._

"Yes, ma'am." they answered in chorus.

"Then, explain yourselves."

"We could not get enough sleep last night." Yamazaki blurted.

"And why so..?" she eyed him.

"Um…well…we… were celebrating." Tomoyo provided.

"Celebrating your…..victory?"

The five raised their heads and looked at her, astonished. But she just smiled,

"You all are part of the music band Whiterain, I suppose."

They nodded, without bothering to correct her.

"I got a call yesterday, informing me that you have been promoted as the winners."

They nodded once again. She smiled and continued,

"So I guess I can excuse you for this once but come back here next time and I won't be so forgiving."

Nod…Nod…Nod…Nod…ZZZZZ….

Tomoyo shook Sakura,

"Wha…? Oh, um…" Nod.

Mizuki looked at Sakura a bit, but she decided to let it pass.

Exiting the Dean's room, they all hurried back to their respective classes.

* * *

It was break time and boys met at Eriol's favorite spot, the pillar in front of the girls' restroom.

"Whew….guys we were reeallly lucky to get off the hook that easily." Yamazaki said as he wiped off some fake sweat.

Eriol chuckled,

"Aww…shucks, I missed the fun."

*Glare* *Glare* *Glare*

"Uhh…okay…nevermind."

But that exactly wasn't enough to stop the death glares that he was getting.

_Gotta do something…fast…_

Right then a bulb clicked in his mind,

"Hey guys do you know who I'm going with to the prom?"

"Who?"

"Megan 'Fox'." Eriol replied with a wide grin.

Syaoran rolled his eyes,

"You mean Megan 'Brown', that British girl."

"Hey she's equally good."

"Yeah, right."

"Hey, hey, how about you guys? Who are you goin' with?" Yamazaki asked, "I got Chiharu, so no problems for me, but just to let you know, No stags and No gays allowed."

Fay smiled a bit and said,

"Oh don't you worry, I managed to convince someone."

"Really…? Who?"

"Tomoyo…"

Eriol's expression hardened a bit.

"You're coming to the prom with Tomoyo?" Syaoran asked in disbelief.

"Hey I already convinced her once before, so this was a piece of cake. But what about you?"

"About me…?"

"Duh…whom have you hooked up?" Yamazaki asked.

Syaoran remained silent.

"Let me guess…nobody." Eriol spoke.

"Look guys I don't go to the prom anyways, so you guys enjoy. I'll pass."

"But we all will be there and it'll a fitting celebration to our win. Come on, Syaoran" Yamazaki nagged.

"But didn't you just say, No Stags and I'm not gay. So I can't come. End." With that he walked away.

The three huddled together…looks like they're hatching a plan,

"Guys, we gotta hook Syaoran with somebody."

"Have you ever seen him with a girl? Who'd like to go with him?"

"IDK, but we must atleast try. So keep your eyes peeled."

With that they broke apart, each with a resolve.

* * *

"Look Tomoyo-chan, you are going with Fay-san. Why do you want me too? Why should I come to the prom?" Sakura complained loudly, attracting attention from the nearby people in the cafeteria.

"Its not for me, you idiot, its for you. You should open up. Forget your past and move ahead." Tomoyo spoke.

"But…"

"No buts. You'll be coming to the prom and that's that. Everyone would be there and it'll be a good way to enjoy our win."

Sakura desperately searched for a way out, and then

"But Tomoyo-chan, who will I go with? I can't go to the prom alone." Sakura said, a smile on her face as she finally hit the nail on the spot.

"Hmm…How about the boys?"

"The boys…"

"Duh…the band…"

"Oh them, umm… well you're going with Fay-san, Yamazaki will surely go with Chiharu, Eriol…no way…"

"Syaoran, that's it!" Tomoyo jumped up." You can go with Syaoran."

Unknowingly, a slight blush appeared on Sakura's cheek.

"But won't Li-kun already be going with someone else. I mean he is…"

"Hot?" Tomoyo suggested.

"N-No, I mean many other girls are after him. I'm sure he'd have picked someone."

"Hmm…"

"Tomoyo..." came a voice from behind.

She turned her head and saw Fay standing behind her with his signature smile on.

"Oh…Fay, so is something the matter?"

"Ahh, nothing important. Just wanted to have a small chat with you."

Tomoyo immediately stood up,

"Then lets go."

Fay smiled and turned while Tomoyo mouthed something to Sakura who was just staring at them.

_Uh oh, I don't think this is the end of it…_Sakura thought.

Walking out of the cafeteria, Fay spoke,

"Tomoyo, I-we wanted a bit of help."

"Help…?"

"You see, Syaoran is being as stubborn as always. We tried our best to convince him to come to the prom but he managed to wriggle out with the excuse of not having a partner."

Tomoyo's eyes gleamed brightly,

"Syaoran doesn't have a partner…"

"Un hun, I hope you can solve this."

"You bet, I can. Just leave it to Tomoyo." And then she laughed 'Ohohoho'.

* * *

Sakura stood in Tomoyo's room fidgeting with her peach-colored strapless gown. This time she wore simple jewelry while Tomoyo kept fussing around her.

"Why do I have to wear this? Why am I being dressed in your house? Why do I have to go to the prom?" Sakura complained.

"One, you're wearing this cuz you're going to the prom. Two, Touya wouldn't allow this if he comes to know, most probably he'll lock you in your room. Three, you agreed to this. When I asked you, you didn't utter a word so silence means approval."

_Okkaaaayyy….she is right. I didn't say anything at that time and neither did he. I kind of lost my voice there….but I can't go today. Today is the day when…_

Sakura's face showed a sad expression.

The doorbell rang; Tomoyo squealed and put the 10th finishing touch to Sakura's dress. They then walked out to be received by two men clad in tux.

The blond one walked forward while the other sheepishly averted looking at them.

"Fay…Syaoran…you both are right on time." Tomoyo chortled.

Fay smiled and decided to show a bit of his gentleman-ness. He went down on one knee, softly held Tomoyo's hand and kissed it. Tomoyo blushed.

Sakura followed Syaoran's example and looked somewhere else.

"Shall we leave?" Fay asked.

Tomoyo nodded and he led her by her hand. When they reached next to Syaoran, Fay cleared his throat. Syaoran looked up at him and Fay signaled towards Sakura.

Taking a deep breath he moved towards her.

_Should I do what he did? Should I say something?_

He stood in front of Sakura staring at her head while she looked at his feet.

In the end all he managed to do was stretch out his arm which Sakura hesitantly held.

Leading her out, he noticed that Fay had already left. Seating her in the car, he settled himself in the drivers' seat and revved up his Porsche Carrera. It was a quite drive and soon they stood in front of the entry of the Prom hall. They noticed that most couple were hand in hand but nope, no way they're gonna follow that.

The two entered their awkwardness clearly visible. They searched around for their friends but found no one. Little did they know that they had their eyes trained on them carefully observing each move.

"Uhh…Would like to have a drink?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura nodded lightly. Looks like something else was on her mind.

After picking up their drink, Syaoran sipped it but Sakura continued stirring.

"Sakura…"

"My mother loved grapes…"

"Hunh…"

"She always had a drink with Grape juice…just like this."

She stopped stirring and then a tear dropped into her glass.

"Sakura…"

That's when she realized Syaoran's presence. Hastily wiping her eyes she said,

"I'm sorry…"

"What's wrong Sakura?" He softly asked.

His voice wasn't helping her and another tear rolled down,

"T-Today was the d-day when my m-mother left me…" Sakura hiccupped.

"Oh…"

"Before leaving she told me that she'll always be watching me from the sky…as a star."

*sniff* *sniff*

A couple of minutes later something sprang up in Syaoran's mind and he pulled Sakura by her hand.

"Come with me…"

"Where?" Sakura asked, surprised.

But he didn't answer. He led her to his car and speedily drove them away, while Sakura kept on asking him.

Finally he stopped on top of a hillock. He stepped out and looked around and saw no one there. Sakura too stepped out,

"What are we doing here…?"

"I think it'll be better if you talked with your mother." Syaoran said pointing at sky above where a million stars glittered.

She walked forward with tears in her eyes and kept staring at the sky for several minutes, muttering something at times.

Finally taking her damp eyes off the twinkling sky, she turned around to look at Syaoran and then gasped.

Bathed in moonlight, his face looked soft and had some sort of 'supernatural' fell to it. To her, he almost looked angelic.

He turned his head and saw straight into her eyes.

_His eyes…_

Sakura felt something deep inside her stir.

"Are you okay?" came his voice, which caused Sakura to take in a sharp breath.

She nodded, wiping her eyes.

And then putting on a smile she said,

"I'm okay, thanks for bringing me here."

"It was, sort of my duty tonight. And anyways, this was something very special to you."

She gave a genuine smile this time.

"Y'know, you should be a bit more open, a bit more expressive." He continued.

"You're saying this! You're the one who needs to do that." She spoke back.

He gave her another soft smile and said,

"Alright, we both should open up."

"Then lets do it right now."

"Okay…"

"Hmm…let me ask you something. How do you think I am? What do you connect me to?"

He remained silent for some time and then said,

"A pig, or maybe a guinea pig."

Sakura's expression changed immediately,

"A pig!"

"Well you are kind of gullible and at times stupid. Also you are easily scared and are emotional, so you fit the bill."

She walked up to him and smacked his shoulder,

"You think I'm fat and disgusting!"

"I don't think so you're that…" He said, "…yet" he added with a cheeky grin.

"Oooohhhh" and Sakura tried stamping his foot, which he easily dodged.

"You asked for it. You asked me to open up, so this is Me." he said, his grin still on.

Somehow this is not what Sakura had expected Syaoran to be.

* * *

**So Syaoran and Sakura are opening up to each other. But what's going on with the others in the party? Check it out in the next chapter cuz its gonna be a shocker for many ;) **

**Thanks for the reviews. And now for my well versed line- I hope you like it and please do review. **

**Oh and please check out my new short fic- A FanFiction Mishap. **

**msé~**


	8. Chapter 8

**WhyteRayne**

**Chapter:8**

* * *

When Sakura had asked Syaoran to open up, she expected him to tell his views, interests, likes, feelings etc. etc. but a cheeky Syaoran was the last thing she imagined and now here he stood, with his 'stupid' wide grin on.

"Hey piggy, I just saw a mud hole down the hill. Want me to drop you there?"

"I. am. Not. A. pig!" Sakura fiercely muttered.

"Of course not. You're not just any pig, you are…um…princess pig! So, your pigginess, where should we go now?" Syaoran teased.

Sakura felt like banging her head against a wall.

_Hey, why should I hurt myself when there is a better target…_

And with that a well-aimed kick landed on his shin.

_Yup, I knew that my experience with Touya would pay off sooner or later._

Syaoran hobbled around on one leg while he clutched his injured one.

"Ow…ow…ow… That hurt!"

Sakura gave him a sickly sweet smile,

"Well, this is ME. Like it?"

Syaoran laughed.

_He laughs…? Never imagined that…_

"Fine, so now we're quits."

"Not exactly….."

"Oh c'mon. Anyways we should head back cuz I don't think our little piggy likes to go hungry." He said and patted her stomach.

"Excuse me…?" she spoke with a look which said 'What the…'

"What?"

"What do you mean by little piggy there?"

"I meant you and your stomach. What else…?"

"Oh…you meant that?"

"Why what di…" and then Syaoran burst out laughing.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe it."

"Hey!" Sakura stamped her foot.

"You thought that I was talking about a little piggy inside you…Ha Ha Ha…oh dear…"

"You said 'our little piggy'…" And then she abruptly stopped.

An awkward silence stretched while the two fidgeted nervously.

"Uhh…We should make a move." He finally spoke.

They sat in the car with the same silence. So Syaoran tried changing the mood.

"Hey, Hands off the seat!"

"Hunh?"

"I said 'Hands Off The Seat'. Your nails might damage the white leather."

Sakura rolled her eyes but then decided to play a bit,

"You mean like this…" and she poked her finger into the seat.

"HEY!"

And then they both laughed. Syaoran started the car and drove away.

* * *

So what was happening back at the Prom hall? Lets look around. Hmm…no Tomoyo, no Fay, no Takashi, no Chiharu, no weird looking blue haired nerd…err…I mean Eriol…oh he's there. Finally, but he's sitting alone. Wonder what happened to Megan 'Fox' Brown? So lets check out,

_Well, since I'm sitting like a jobless ass, I'll tell you what happened over here. Things were going well and I-we say Syaoran and Sakura leave. Never thought Syaoran was so fast in picking them up. Anyways, after they left we all danced and drank…some a bit too much. So Megan is throwing up in the wash room, Yamazaki and Chiharu left for his car and Fay and Tomoyo went somewhere, most probably to get something to…ah…alleviate the discomfort. And I'm stuck here, bored, waiting for any of those bastards to show up. Heck, I'll go find them myself._

Eriol got of the stool and looked around for any of them. He poked around the hall, at times taking a look at any…umm… prospective clients (which means he was sighting girls). After concluding that none of them was in the hall he moved to check the side rooms.

_Room 1. Empty_

_Room 2. Ugh…smells_

_Room 3. A Couple, kissing._

_Roo…._

He abruptly stopped.

_A couple…_

_Kissing…_

_Boy, blond messy hair…_

_Girl, long black hair…_

…_Shit…_

He sprinted back to Room 3 and spied through the keyhole. What he saw gave him an uncontrollable urge to kill somebody, but he reeled it in. Okaaayy, so lets peek through the keyhole,

There stood a blond boy and a black haired girl, their foreheads touching each other's.

They moved a bit closer…

Their noses touching now…

Deep breaths…

Mouths open slightly…

Lips brushing…

And then…

"OWW!"

What the… who was it?

Eriol was rubbing the back of his head while a sexy girl in a bright red revealing dress glared at him.

"What's the meaning of this!" She demanded.

"Megan, not now. Please." Eriol pushed her aside and peeped through the keyhole once again.

Frustrated, Megan stormed away. Now who wouldn't, you get drunk, throw up and come back to see your partner spying thru a keyhole, too much for a girl like 'her' to take.

Now back to where the actions happening,

Their lips parted…

The two stare into each other's eyes…

The girl touches her lips and then her eyes go wide…

She runs towards the door…

_The door…? Uh oh…_

Pain and darkness…

Blood from nose…

Note to self: Stupidity while spying through keyholes can be injurious to health…well at least to the nose.

Guess Eriol escaped breaking his nose. I hate him!

But the girl sped out without even noticing either of us.

"Tomoyo…"

* * *

Syaoran parked the car and the two stepped out with cheerful faces. Sakura walked forward while Syaoran locked the car.

"Syao-Uhh…Li-kun, what's up with that car?" Sakura asked pointing at a white Honda Civic with dark tinted glasses.

"First, you can call me Syaoran. Second, check it out for yourself. I'm not intre…" He stopped. "Lets go…" And he headed towards the car.

A few steps and the car suddenly stopped shaking. Sakura and Syaoran stopped as well.

"Yamazaki's car…" He whispered.

Suddenly the rear door opened and a brunette girl with braids at the side of her head stepped out. She looked sweaty and her dress was askew.

Syaoran pulled Sakura and hid behind a car.

"Chiharu…" Sakura whispered.

Chiharu nervously looked around and then mumbled something.

Syaoran crouched down and tried getting closer, Sakura followed him.

"I should leave now." Chiharu spoke to someone inside the car. She turned on her heel and took a few steps when a voice came from behind.

"Chi, I think you're missing something." The voice teased.

Chiharu turned,

"What?" she asked.

A cloth came flying out and she instinctively caught it…and blushed. She was holding a pair of lacy, black panties...her panties.

Syaoran gave a light cough while Sakura's ears heated up.

Yamazaki stepped out of the car with sly grin on. Chiharu turned around and ran away, leaving Yamazaki chuckling.

Syaoran decided to reveal himself,

"Now, wasn't that amusing"

Yamazaki turned his head and faced Syaoran while Sakura too got up from her crouched position.

"Syaoran, what are you doing here?"

"I have to be blind to miss a car rocking in the parking lot."

"Actually you did…" Sakura spoke with a small grin.

He just gave her a look which she ignored.

"So what was going on over there?" Syaoran asked.

"Ahh…private stuff…but you already know so no need for me to speak." And with that he coolly walked towards the hall, leaving Sakura and Syaoran shaking their heads.

* * *

Lying on his bed, Eriol thought about the same thing which he had been thinking for the past whole week, about what he saw that night.

_Tomoyo…_

_Fay…_

_Tomoyo and Fay…_

_Tomoyo and Fay kissing…_

For some unknown reason he felt hatred towards Fay but he pushed it aside. This incident was known to nobody else. He hadn't told it to Syaoran or anybody and he was pretty sure that Fay and Tomoyo were also unaware that he had seen them…kissing.

_Why did she do that? What about what she said to me that night? What about…_ Several questions popped in Eriol's mind.

Finally he concluded,

_She has moved on and so should I. If she likes him, who am I to object to that._

With that he rolled over and slipped into an uncomfortable slumber.

* * *

"You guys saw Tomoyo today?" Syaoran asked Eriol and Yamazaki.

"Nope" Yamazaki replied.

"Ask Fay…" Eriol replied in a snide voice.

"Good idea" Syaoran said missing out the venom in his voice.

Syaoran searched for Fay and found him next to the cafeteria talking to Sakura.

"Hey Fay, you saw Tomoyo today?" he asked.

"That's what I was asking Sakura."

Syaoran turned to Sakura,

"So piggy, did you see her?"

Sakura whacked his arm,

"Stop that and no, I didn't see her. She isn't picking up her phone either."

"And you call yourself her best friend?"

Sakura snorted.

"Pig!" He exclaimed earning him another smack from her while Fay chuckled.

"I guess we should go to her house later." Fay spoke.

And so they agreed to visit her in the evening.

* * *

At 5 in the evening, Sakura, Syaoran and Fay left for Tomoyo's house. Eriol and Yamazaki were 'busy' as they couldn't come along. Each of them was on their own mode of transport. At times they preferred to dump their cars and go unhindered so Sakura was on her rollerblades, Syaoran on his skateboard and Fay on his cycle.

"Shouldn't we get something for her?" Sakura asked.

Syaoran smacked his head,

"Shit, I had just got the latest edition of the 'Cosmopolitan' and I thought of giving it to her."

"A magazine, huh…"

Suddenly Sakura stopped and shouted,

"Hey look. Those red flowers by the road. They're so beautiful. Why don't we give these to her?"

"That would be good." Fay said.

Syaoran got off his skateboard and picked a bunch of them,

"At least they look better than when you blush." Syaoran commented. Sakura wasn't impressed so she tried giving him a nice kick in the shins, but he dodged it.

"I don't fall for the same thing twice." He said with a cheeky grin.

"Gah…"

He jumped on to his skateboard before she could do anything else and sped ahead.

A few minutes later they reached Tomoyo's mansion where a maid welcomed them. When they asked her about Tomoyo she said,

"Tomoyo-sama has not come out of her room today. She just came out in the morning, picked up a magazine and has been in her room since then."

Worried expressions came up on their faces as the maid led them to Tomoyo's room. They called out from outside but got no reply. Syaoran turned the door knob and pushed it. The door opened.

Stepping inside they saw things littered all around. Papers, books, pencils were thrown around. On the bed lay a figure with its back at them. Syaoran and Sakura picked the stuff while Fay moved towards the figure, flowers in his hand.

"Tomoyo…"

She sniffed.

"What happened?"

*Sniff*

"I think I know what happened" Sakura's voice came from behind. She was holding a magazine in her hands.

"Tomoyo-chan was not selected for the Fashion search."

Tomoyo started wailing on the bed. Fay tried consoling her,

"Shh…Come on Tomoyo. Look we got flowers for you."

She turned her head. Tears streaked down her face and her eyes bloodshot.

"Anemone…" she spoke in a throaty voice.

"Well I never knew what they were called."

"A dying hope…"

"What?"

"They represent a dying hope"

_Crap…_

"I-uh seriously didn't know what they meant. I didn't even know their name." Fay tried explaining.

"You came here to mock me, right?"

"N-No…"

"I hate you…" And she buried her face in the pillow.

Fay turned at Sakura and Syaoran for help. Sakura didn't know what to do but Syaoran moved forward,

"Just because they didn't choose you, you accepted defeat. You accepted you're not good enough."

Tomoyo suddenly sat up and shrieked,

"Then why were my designs rejected?"

"Those bastards are blind!"

"That still doesn't change the fact that my designs weren't good enough."

Syaoran sighed,

"If they didn't like your designs does that mean they are bad?"

No reply.

"What about you, Sakura? Why do you think? Are her dresses bad?"

"N-No…"

"See…"

Tomoyo gave them a weak smile,

"Thanks, but…"

"No buts. And do pack your bags; we'll be leaving for Osaka next week."

"Osaka…?"

"Yes, WhyteRayne does need its Costume designer."

Tomoyo beamed.

"You got it…"

* * *

After around an hour of chatting, they left Tomoyo's house. It was almost dark. Fay went one side while Sakura and Syaoran the other.

"You handled the situation well." Sakura spoke to him.

"Ya, and you were such a help." He sarcastically replied.

Sakura snorted.

"See, that's why I call you a pig."

She sighed,

"Look Syaoran, I know that its fun for you but could you please stop it."

Her voice gave him a sort of guilty feeling,

"Oh sorry, its just that you're one of the few who know this side of me."

"But still…"

"Okay so I'll come up with a better name net time."

"You can just call me Sakura."

"Ahh, but that's too common and everyone calls you that. I should have a special name for you. Y'know, Special person, special name."

Sakura didn't know why but when he said this she felt something inside her rising.

_Special Person…He thinks I'm special…_

* * *

**Well whatya know, Tomoyo and Fay kissing. Shocker, eh? Well ExT was getting boring so lets try something new, FxT- a crossover pairing. What do you think about that-**

**ExT**

**or**

**FxT**

**Which one do you prefer? Please tell me and I may change the story accordingly.**

**Review please :) **

**msé~**


	9. Chapter 9

**School reopened, more work, less time- argh. I hate it! My speed will kinda go down a bit with school starting but don't give up, I'll keep updating. Oh and about the ExT or FxT pairing, I'm really confused now. Most of you want the conventional ExT but a few suggest the other, so please vote in the poll on my profile and as always R&R. **

* * *

**WhyteRayne**

**Chapter:9**

* * *

After being officially made the costume designer of WhyteRayne, Tomoyo had fussed everyone with new designs every day and when she showed an eye-piercingly red jumpsuit to Syaoran, his patience finally broke,

"TOMOYO, control! At this rate we'll have to change dresses every second! And all these clothes on the floor, I'll have to pick 'em up since Wei's gone back to Hong Kong." He exclaimed.

With her hands on her hips she replied,

"Just chose the one which suits you."

"But haven't you shown around hundred designs and to choose one from them…is kinda hard." Fay said from behind.

"I agree. Experience speaks." Sakura cheeped.

"Whatever…now where is that nutcase?"

And right on cue Yamazaki burst into the room, panting hard.

"S-Sorry guys *pant* got stuck up *pant*"

He eyed the red cloth in Tomoyo's hands,

"Whoa, going bullfighting Tomoyo?"

She pouted and hurled the cloth at him while he chuckled.

"Okay, okay, chill. Anyways guys I have something very important to tell you."

"You got yourself new underwear?" Eriol spoke with a bored air.

"Noo…something even more important…its Chiharu's birthday on Friday!"

"Oh that's nice; I'll remember to wish her." Syaoran coolly spoke.

"Okay but the point is that she's celebrating it at Insomnia and you all have to come."

"Insomnia…? The new all-night pub, right?" Eriol inquired.

"Yup, that's the one."

"You mean that all of us are invited?" Sakura asked.

"Heck ya! Isn't it very obvious! You guys are my best friends!" Yamazaki said, spreading his arms.

"Well maybe I won't…"

"Now Sakura I'm not hearing any of that. You are coming, no matter what!" Yamazaki almost shouted.

"I'll try…"

* * *

"Now why did you spend last night alone, you could have come to my house!" Tomoyo carped. It was a murky morning next day and the two girls were chatting as they took out their stuff from their lockers.

"It was already too late and besides, how am I supposed to know that Dad would suddenly leave for a month with Touya to test the company's new Archeological Scanner." Sakura retorted.

"That was very unlike Touya…"

"It almost feels bliss when he's not at home but still, I don't know why, I kinda miss him."

"Sister Instincts kicking in, eh?"

"Whatever…"

"So you are coming to my house. I already informed mom and she says she'll be delighted to have you for a month."

"But…"

"ZIP!" Tomoyo cut her off.

"Fine, I'll come." Sakura said with a tone of defeat.

The bell suddenly rang; Tomoyo caught Sakura's hand and hurriedly pulled her to their next class.

* * *

"10:30! The party starts at that time!" Sakura shouted in almost a scandalized tone.

"Chill Sakura. It's meant to be late-night party." Tomoyo replied, flipping the pages of a magazine.

"Oh…"

"Anyways, you're dress is on that chair. You have an hour to get ready." Tomoyo spoke without lifting her eyes.

Sakura grabbed the dress and ducked into the dressing room.

Minutes later Sakura shrieked from inside causing Tomoyo to abruptly jump and then made a dash to the dressing room.

"What happened, Sakura? You okay…?"

"Tomoyo-chan, what is the meaning of THIS?" Sakura shouted, pointing at herself.

"Isn't that your body?"

"Gah…I mean the dress!"

Now that she speaks about it, lets see. Hmm…it's a white and sky blue crop top with a slash below the neck revealing quite a bit of cleavage, not to mention the already visible hips; and jean shorts frayed at the ends…now why am I feeling all sweaty just looking at it?

Tomoyo clapped her hands, her eyes glinting,

"I know, isn't it awesome and don't you look hot in it?"

"W-What?" Sakura stuttered.

"Its perfect! I never thought that you were so sexy!" Tomoyo chortled.

Sakura turned around to face the full-length mirror behind and checked herself out in the racy outfit.

_Wow…Tomoyo's right…I do look different…maybe better…maybe sexy…_

"Are you done ogling yourself cuz even I have to get ready." Tomoyo spoke from behind.

Sakura giggled and vacated the room for Tomoyo.

* * *

The hands of Sakura's Swarovski-encrusted watch overlapped at 11 as the she and Tomoyo entered Insomnia. Of course they were almost half an hour late but who cared. The whole pub was dark and the disco lights were the only source of illumination in the whole place. But it wasn't hard to spot Chiharu who was wearing a sparkling tube top with a mini skirt and was chatting with few her friends on the edge of the dance floor. The girls went up to her greeted her, hugged her and gave her their presents to which Chiharu graciously thanked. After some small chat with Chiharu, Sakura left Tomoyo with them as the topic changed to fashion and the girls started going gaga. She moved around the pub and soon she noticed that she was drawing attention from the men around. Now the discomfort of her dress came creeping back. She certainly looked seductive and men were bound to get wrong ideas about her. From the corner of her eye she noticed two men moving from their seats and now she felt panicky. Keeping her eyes focused behind, she raised her pace to widen the gap. But she was brought to an abrupt halt as she bumped into something firm yet soft. She could hardly see but the feel and the scent of musky perfume made her realize that she had collided into a man…a familiar man.

_Li…Oh thank god, its Syaoran…he's here…_

She clawed his shirt to renew the sense of security in her. She felt his arms wrapping around her bare waist but she didn't mind. He moved his face closer to her ear,

"Hey hot stuff, your place or my place?" came a gruff, raspy voice.

Immediately she realized her error and pulled her face off his chest to look at a man in his early-thirties with black hair.

_Shit…How could I…How did I think that this was Syaoran?_

She fidgeted and tried freeing herself from the man's grip but he held her strong. He once again brought his face next to her ear and slightly licked her earlobe.

Sakura shrieked loudly and howled,

"Let go…Let go off me…"

She tried punching and kneeing him but to no avail, the man only tightened his grip. She frantically looked around for help but saw no familiar face; as a matter of fact she could hardly see the faces in the darkness. Finally, as a last resort, she aimed her knee at his crotch but her captor sensed it and blocked it. Now Sakura could only close her eyes and pray to god for help. But it seems that god is a bit busy so the man managed to lift Sakura and literally carry her. Her voice was obscured by the loud music and now tears formed in her eyes.

_Its all my fault…this stupid dress…Why did I wear this? Why did I leave Tomoyo? Why… _

"Hey…"

Ah, looks like god's finally free and immediately sent Sakura's 'Guardian Angel'.

The man turned around and Sakura, at last, got to see her savior.

_Now he comes…What took him so long?_

Yup, it was him alright, it was Syaoran.

He walked next to them and tugged Sakura by her hand.

"Where do you think you are taking her?"

"Why do you care?" the man gruffed back," She isn't anything to you."

"Oh yes she is!"

"Really, well sorry if you had booked her for tonight cuz I'm the one who'd be taking her now."

"She isn't a call girl, you clod." Syaoran growled.

"Oh yeah…how do you know?"

"Because she is my girlfriend!" Syaoran answered back.

Sakura's eyes went wide but Syaoran focused on the man. It took almost a minute for him to register this and then he loosened his hold. Instantly, Syaoran pulled Sakura and now he held her in a soft embrace. Sakura compared and marveled how the same gesture from two different people caused such contrasting feelings in her. The man had made her feel scared and hostile but Syaoran made her feel warm and safe. She glared at the man, who snarled a bit and then turned away. Now Sakura could heave a sigh of relief.

"What kind of a dress is that?" Syaoran's voice came.

"Uh…"

"No wonder you set their balls bouncing."

"What?"

"Nevermind. Next time, be a bit more decent to avoid such incidents." And he patted her head.

Sakura turned her head up and smiled lightly,

"Thanks…and I will."

"Oh and sorry about the 'Girlfriend' part. Don't take it seriously, okay?"

Somehow, this hurt Sakura but she pushed it aside and continued smiling.

"Now c'mon, the band is waiting to meet you. Lets dance, drink and party…" with that he led her back.

* * *

They all partied hard, danced hard and drank hard. Sakura, after much persuasion, got her first taste of alcohol and Tomoyo joined her; after that there was no stopping them. The party broke up at around 2AM with Sakura and Tomoyo thoroughly tipsy. Syaoran, after handing over Tomoyo to Fay to help her to her car, looked around for the others. He found Takashi and Chiharu giggling and kissing, Eriol had mysteriously disappeared as soon as Tomoyo and Fay left and Sakura was seated on a bar stool yammering to another equally drunk girl. Suddenly she slipped and fell down. Making a mental note about controlling Sakura and alcohol, he went to her and gently pulled her up.

"Sakura, you okay? Time to go home."

"T-Time to ho gome?" Sakura blabbered.

Syaoran sighed,

"How did you come here?"

"Hunh?"

"How did you come here?" he repeated.

She giggled,

"Cuute…"

"What?"

"You l-look cut-te…"

Syaoran sighed again and repeated his question.

"Ah, I came with Tomoyo-ch*hic*an."

Syaoran slapped his forehead.

_Great…_

* * *

"Mmph" Sakura groaned on the bed as a ray of light streaked through the curtains. She tossed and turned and finally buried her face under the pillow. Her senses were slowly booting up and her sense of smell triggered a memory.

_That scent…where have I smelled it before?_

Her sense of touch told that the sheets were of silk.

_Silk sheets…I don't remember having silk bed sheets…_

Her ears picked up the sounds…or rather lack of sounds.

_That's odd…I don't hear any of the daily clatter at mine or Tomoyo's house_

All this made her conclude one thing for sure…She was in somebody else's house.

Sakura sprang up and instantly felt pain in her head and her body felt sore.

_Gah…so this is how a hangover feels…should stay away from those drinks. But why does my body feel sore?_

She looked at the bed and found that the silk sheets were badly crumpled.

_What happened last night?_

Gingerly, she got off the bed, her legs felt weak, and realized that she was wearing a dark green dressing gown. Sakura peeped inside and found that she still had her top and shorts on. She looked around the room and found it decorated simply but elegantly. There were no pictures revealing about the owner of the room or house.

_Oh my…where have I spent my whole night? Whose house is this? Whose dressing gown is this?_

Cautiously, she stepped out of the room and saw a long carpeted corridor. She walked to the door at the end and opened it by a crack and peeped inside. Seeing no one inside, she carefully stepped in looked around. She was in a big room with sofas and couches, huge bronze vases and small crystal figurines. She took a few steps when suddenly,

***DING* *DONG***

The doorbell rang and Sakura immediately sprang and hid herself behind a bronze vase. Looks like the main doors' outside this room.

***DING* *DONG***

"Coming…" came a male voice from inside.

***DIIING* *DONNNG***

"Alright, alright, I'm almost there."

Sakura heard the clink of the door opening and,

"SURPRISE!" came a female voice from outside.

Sakura carefully peeked and saw that the room's door was open and on the main door stood two people hugging, a guy who just had his boxers and undershirt on and a girl with long black hair in a halter top and a midi skirt.

The girl giggled and said,

"Syaoran, is it your habit to welcome guests in your underclothes."

Syaoran, still stunned at the sudden appearance of the girl stammered,

"N-No, I w-was in a hurry."

She giggled again.

Regaining his composure he asked,

"Meilin, what are you doing here? You should be in California."

"Can't I visit my fiancé?"

_Fiancé!_

Sakura lost her balance and down came the vase with a huge clang. She was kneeling down when the two sprinted in.

The girl, Meilin seemed astonished at the sight of Sakura and instantly demanded,

"Who are you? And what are you doing in Syaoran's house?"

Sakura was dumbstruck. Meilin noticed Sakura's clothes, the sash had slipped and the gown was now undone. Her dress underneath was enough to give wrong ideas.

"Why are you in Syaoran's gown?"

No reply.

But Syaoran tried explaining,

"No, Meilin, listen…um…she…I…"

"Now I get the reason behind your attire. So this is what you do when you're alone."

"NO! Meilin, you've got it all wrong!"

"Then explain…" Meilin demanded.

"This is Sakura, her father owns Kinomoto tech. and…"

"How cheap! Your father owns such a big company yet you indulge in such activities." Meilin shouted at Sakura.

"N-No…" Sakura croaked.

"MEILIN, please listen. She also sings for the band and…"

"That doesn't give you the right to…"

"ENOUGH!"

Meilin was immediately silenced while Sakura sat there, wide eyed.

"Stop jumping to conclusions. There was a party late night and she had got quite drunk. I went to drop her to her house but I found no one there so as a last resort I brought her here and gave her my gown. She just slouched on my bed so I went and slept in the guest room."

_Oh so that's what that familiar scent was…it was Syaoran's. But I was in Syaoran's room…on his bed…crumpled sheets…sore legs…Hoee…_

Meilin still looked skeptical but she offered her hand to Sakura who stupidly stared at it.

"You're supposed to hold it."

Hesitantly, Sakura grabbed her hand and Meilin pulled her up. She quickly tied up her gown's sash.

"Sorry…" Meilin said though her tone hardly seemed apologetic.

"Its okay…" Sakura murmured.

"So you sing for Syaoran's band, right?"

Sakura nodded.

Right at that time, the chauffer hauled in Meilin's luggage. Syaoran looked at it and his eyes popped out.

"Meilin, that's a lot of stuff."

"Well you do need lots if you're gonna stay for long."

"But Meilin, we-I mean the band is leaving for Osaka next week for the next round of ICB."

"Then I'll go along with you."

"Meilin…"

"Un hunh, I'm not listening! I'm going with you to Osaka."

Sakura couldn't understand what was going on but one thing she knew for sure, if Meilin's coming to Osaka then its gonna be one heck of a trip.

* * *

**Next up- Osaka Calling.**

**So the usual twist of Meilin showing up at the wrong time occurs. I didn't want to experiment with the Meilin-Syaoran fiancé thing so I just went the usual way. Oh and what happened to Sakura that night- crumpled bed and sore legs…he… he… he. **

**And don't forget to vote in the poll…oh and the reviews, don't forget them as well :)**

**msé~**


	10. Chapter 10

**Alright, the full chapter is up. Thanks for the reviews and looks like you all want ExT but the last decision rests with me He..he…I had mentioned about the Osaka trip at the end of the last chapter but now I have to push to the next one cuz there's already a lot in this chapter.**

**Also, many Thanks to my new Beta reader, Moonlight919 for fixing up the stupid mistakes I had made. Enjoy ;)**

**

* * *

**

**WhyteRayne**

**Chapter:10**

While Sakura was with Syaoran what became of Tomoyo? Syaoran had asked Fay to drop Tomoyo so he accompanied her to her house. On her house's doorstep Fay stopped and took a deep breath,

"Tomoyo…"

Still in her drunk state, she swayed at the spot and tried speaking back,

"Yesh?"

"I-I wanted to…wanted to…apologize to you."

"About *hic* wh-what?"

"Well…about…you know…that."

She giggled and leaned closer. Fay could smell the alcohol in her breath.

"About that? What that?" She whispered.

Fay gulped, he hadn't expected this to be easy but she had raised the difficulty to a higher level.

Tomoyo moved even closer, grasped his shirt and pulled him to eye level. Was it because she was drunk that made her so bold or something else, Fay was getting really nervous. He had come to fix this very mistake but…

"If you can't say, then show me what 'that' is…"

_Holy Shit! What am I gonna do now?_

"Uhh…Tomoyo…"

"Sshh…just show me 'that'"

Tomoyo brought her face closer. Fay was now pushing her off but it was like something of greater strength had possessed her. He turned his face away,

_Talk about swapped situations. Aren't girls supposed to resist a kiss?_

Tomoyo caught him by his chin and turned his face back,

"Show…me…now…" she hissed

And she closed her eyes…

Her lips parted slightly…

The strong liquor scent went straight through his nose…

_No…I can't…I shouldn't…..why not?_

Finally accepting defeat, his wall of resistance broke and now his lips advanced.

Once again their noses touched…

Ragged breaths…

And…

"OI!"

Fay instantly pulled back, shocked on hearing that voice. But he wasn't the only one who had noticed it.

"So you decided to show yourself, finally" Tomoyo spoke, now strangely coherent.

Fay was now very confused,

_So she knew that someone was hidden here?_

The bushes next to foot of the stairs rustled and a dark figure rose. It remained still for a few moments and then swiftly made its way up to them.

The light now shone its face and the very person whom he wanted to keep in the dark about this 'incident' was now standing before him.

"Eriol…I…"

Eriol just raised his hand, signaling him to stop. He was devoid his glasses and the dark shadow around his eyes gave him an ominous look.

"How did you know I was following you?" Eriol spoke in a low voice.

Tomoyo cocked her head sideways,

"I may have been a bit drunk but I do not remain oblivious of my surroundings, something which I learnt after meeting you."

Fay stupidly kept looking at their faces while two ignored him.

"Why did you kiss him?" Eriol bluntly asked.

A sinister smile appeared on her face, a rare sight. But Fay decided to butt in,

"N-No. I didn't kiss her. You saw right now, I did not kiss her."

Eriol turned to him, glaring,

"Oh yeah, then what about on the Prom night?"

Fay's mouth went dry,

_He knows…? How does he know?_

Tomoyo gave a mock laugh,

"So you know. Well than I won't deny. I did kiss him and I can bet a million bucks that he was better than you."

Eriol clenched his fists,

"L-Look, I didn't…" Fay stuttered

Eriol repeated his gesture and silenced him.

"You still haven't answered my question."

"And why should I?" She spoke back, her evil smile still on," As a matter of fact, you too have to answer my question, a question I asked long ago and it itself seeks the answer to another one."

"Look, we weren't ready for it and…"

"We weren't ready for it…WE!" Tomoyo shouted," No Eriol, it was YOU, only YOU. I was ready to give up everything, I almost did. But no, you still thought that you could try for someone better and if you didn't get anyone else, you thought that stupid, little Tomoyo would anyway be there for you."

She paused.

"But you were wrong. I did not let myself be a victim, did not remain an instrument of pleasure to you which you discarded at the slightest of trouble."

"Tomoyo, please…"

"No Fay, don't stop me. Today, I want this pathetic excuse of a man to listen to all that I had kept inside myself." Tomoyo fiercely spoke back.

"But Tomoyo, you didn't wait…"

"Wait?" Tomoyo angrily spoke," You need time to wait, something which I didn't have but still…I waited."

"But you were done with everything by the time I came back."

"And how was I supposed to know that you're ever going to come back? Did you even tell me that you're coming back?"

"But I had to go and…"

"I presume that something called the telephone exists."

"Nngh…" Now Eriol had nothing to say. Fay just stared at them like a helpless spectator.

Tomoyo smirked,

"What do you have to say to that?"

Silence.

"Oh and about your question, I'll answer it. You know why I kissed Fay, because I wanted to make you feel, if possible, a tiny fraction of pain which I felt and still carry with me."

Eriol lowered his head and spoke in a barely audible voice,

"And you succeeded…"

"Hunh?"

"You succeeded in inflicting pain, but…it isn't a fraction…it is way more than that."

Eriol rose up his head and tears glistened in his eyes,

"You aren't the only one who has lost something; I lost something too…"

"Humph, crocodile tears."

And suddenly Eriol grabbed her by the shoulders,

"Damn it, why don't you understand? Why can't you give me another chance?" He shouted.

"And why should I? Why should I give you another chance?" she spoke back in an equally high voice.

"Because I LOVE YOU, dammit! I always have and always will!" And with that he darted back as fast as his legs could carry, leaving both Tomoyo and Fay stunned.

Fay ran his hand through his hair, flustered.

_A heck of a night…_

_

* * *

_

"I should formally introduce myself, I'm Meilin Li and I look after, or rather used to look after the American establishments of Li corp." Meilin spoke and bowed.

"I'm Sakura Kinomoto and as you know I'm the daughter of Fujitaka Kinomoto, the head of Kinomoto tech." And Sakura too bowed.

_Whew…atleast this is sorted out,_ Syaoran thought while he heaved a sigh of relief.

_Wait a sec…_

"You 'used' to look after? What do you mean?"

Meilin grinned,

"Well I asked Aunt Yelan to move me out of there. I wanted Japan so I could be close to you but she put me in China HQ, what a bother. But I managed to wriggle out a two week holiday."

"Thank god… and mom."

"What did you say?" Meilin fiercely spoke.

"Oh Meilin, I think you'd like to freshen up a bit. Let me help you with the luggage." With that Syaoran hurriedly tugged one of her bags and took Meilin to a room, leaving Sakura alone.

_Fiancé…that means…Meilin is Syaoran's Fiancée…but why should I bother…? Why do I get this odd feeling…? Why does this give me the feeling that I've lost something…? Something dear…_

Sakura shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts,

_Oh well, guess I should freshen up too._

She turned back and headed to Syaoran's room, once inside she saw the door to the bathroom and entered it. Immediately a bilious smell reached her nose, causing her to pinch it.

_Yuck! Who had puked here?_

Grabbing hold of a deo-can from the dresser she let it out full blast until the smell was neutralized.

_Now that's better…_

Removing her dress, but keeping the gown on she moved into the bathroom.

_Hmm…why do I feel that I'm missing something?_

She parted the shower curtains and found clothes on the floor. She bent down to check them and saw that they were…female underclothes. Instinctively, she felt herself through her gown and…yup, she was lacking underwear.

"HOEEEE…." She shrieked.

Within seconds, two pairs of footsteps thundered into the room and the bath, there on the door stood Syaoran and Meilin. His eyes immediately went to Sakura and the article in her hand,

"Shit…"

"What is the meaning of this!" Both girls exclaimed pointing at the same thing.

"Uh…I d-don't know…maybe Sakura left her underwear when she took a shower last night…"

"And you expect me to believe that?" Meilin spoke with a scowl.

"You don't trust me…"

"I believe you…" Sakura spoke from behind.

"What?" Meilin turned her head and questioned.

"Syaoran doesn't lie, that's what I've seen and heard."

"But…"

"Huh, and you claim to know me since childhood." Now Syaoran had the upper hand.

Meilin glared and left the room.

"Whew…"

"Now Syaoran," Sakura spoke as she folded her hands around her front," tell me what happened."

"Hunh?" Syaoran was bewildered.

"Meilin has left, so please tell me what happened."

"I-I…don't know…I mean how am I supposed to know?"

"You're a pathetic liar. Now spit it out."

"But…"

"If you're my friend then you'll tell me."

*Gulp*

"I-I tried my b-best, but please don't think badly of me."

Syaoran took a deep breath while Sakura braced for the worst.

"After the party I took you to your home but found the whole place locked. I couldn't possibly take you to Tomoyo's house in this state so as the final option I brought you here. You were hardly capable of walking and soon as we entered the room, you ran for the bathroom, puked on the floor and landed on your own vomit"

"EWWW!" Sakura exclaimed in disgust.

"So I had to pick you up, clean the floor and," Syaoran paused and Sakura noticed his face going a bit red," took your clothes to wash."

"WHAT!"

"It was only your dress. I took it and put it in the washer while I left you under the running shower. But even the cold water couldn't bring you back to your senses and you just sat on the floor with water pouring on you. So I *gulp* had to pick you up and tried giving a bath, but ended up soaking wet as a result of which I *gulp* had to remove my clothes too."

Sakura was hoping that she might have come to her senses at that time. But…

"By now you were more awake and looked a bit better, so I left you to take a bath yourself. But you caught my hand and pulled me in.*Gulp* A-And then you whispered that you always take a bath without any clothes on a-and then *gulp* you began to….."

_NOOOO…please no…_

***DING* *DONG***

_My Savior! I don't care who it is but I'll give them a kiss…err I think a simple thank you would suffice._

So getting a perfect excuse he slipped out and hurried to the main door.

"Hey wait…" Sakura shouted from behind but he was determined to escape. But she wasn't going to back down so she too sprinted behind him.

Gasping, he reached the door, wrenched the knob, and ran out resulting in a collision with the person outside but the person withstood the blow.

"Whoa, oh sor…Fay?"

But before Fay could speak Syaoran felt a strong push from behind, which he transferred to Fay. Now how much can a man handle? So taken aback, this time Syaoran and Fay tumbled and landed in a heap with squeals and grunts all around.

"What the…? Who was that?" Syaoran shouted and turned his head to look at the source of all this chaos which was now on his back.

"Sakura?"

"Ehehe…Sorr…"

"WILL YOU CLODS GET OFF ME! I'M GETTING BURIED HERE!" A voice beneath them shrieked.

"Whoops!" and Fay pushed both Syaoran and Sakura off him, causing Syaoran to land over her.

"SQUEEEE! GET OFF ME!" She shouted.

"Urrr…" And Syaoran rolled off her, still panting.

"You d-didn't *pant* have to shout so loud."

"I was getting *pant* crushed." Sakura too panted.

"OH MY EFFING GAWD!" The voice from before shrieked.

The two on the ground whirled their heads to look at a Tomoyo ready to pop her eyes out and a mouth-hanging Fay, who suddenly twirled and faced away.

"Ehh…Tomoyo-chan, what?" Sakura asked.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"

Syaoran pressed his hands on his ears and said,

"Hush, calm down Tomoyo. What's the matter?"

"What's the matter? You got some nerve asking that when everything is so open."

"Open?" Sakura confusedly spoke.

Syaoran tried comprehending what she meant and when he looked at Sakura, everything made sense. The famous gown was once again undone, revealing the top of Sakura's…err…you know the female anatomy, don't you? So, umm…gown partially open from front, Sakura kneeling on the ground and obviously, since she had discarded the only clothing she had, no covering below, implies that some parts below the neck were 'open' to public view. Syaoran followed Fay's method and instantly turned away.

_FISH! And I'm never going to sleep in my boxers again!_

Sakura was slow at catching the flow of proceedings so she stupidly blinked until Syaoran bellowed,

"SAKURA, Look under your nose!"

_Under my nose…?_

She looked down and Lo, behold- An unhindered view of the…arghh I can't stop myself anymore…of the top of her 'humps'.

"Gyaahhh!" She shrieked and pulled the gown around her.

Tomoyo laughed.

"Is that all that you can do, Tomoyo?" Syaoran sneered, his back to them.

Tomoyo smirked, not that he could see,

"Oh c'mon Syaoran, it's not something which you haven't seen. Actually, you must have seen the whole thing." She turned to Sakura and winked," So that's where you were and upto last night…"

"No-no-No…I swear…I was out like a light after all those drinks…And Nothing…nothing doing" Sakura retorted, though at the back of her mind Syaoran's incomplete explanation of last night's events nagged her.

Syaoran, his head now turned, shouted,

"You're as bad as Meilin, stop jumping to conclusions!"

"Meilin? Meilin is here?" Fay, who too had turned back, asked.

Promptly, her voice echoed from inside,

"Syaoooraaan, where aarre yoouuu?"

Syaoran sighed,

"I hope you got your answer." And he picked himself up.

Pulling Sakura up, Tomoyo whispered in her ears,

"Only for now, but sooner or later you'll have to spill the beans."

Sakura groaned.

_Oh no…_

_

* * *

_

After the usual pleasantries were exchanged, Syaoran finally went and put on some clothes and Sakura put on the only dress she had. Oh how she hated this dress, it did no good to her and only trouble came out of it. Mentally, she was quite shaken thanks to the 'incidents'. God knows what more is in store for her.

"So, what reason caused you two to grace my doorstep so early in the morning?" Syaoran asked in a fake polite tone.

"It was quite surprising…" Meilin spoke with a finger on her chin.

Tomoyo stiffened a bit while Fay searched for the words to break the news,

"Well…ah…last night…he followed…and…"

"How am I gonna make sense of that? Quit being nervous and just blab it out." Syaoran impatiently spoke.

"Okay, the thing is that Eriol had followed us after the party and now he is nowhere to be found. We-I checked out everywhere but no luck."

"Eriol followed you guys…wait a minute he didn't…"

Fay nodded,

"He finally told her…and she too told him back."

Syaoran looked at Tomoyo and noticed her change in expression, she was now stony faced.

"Tomoyo, look…"

"You already knew…" She abruptly cut him off.

"Well…yes, we did know but we didn't want any more trouble so we kept mum and at times stopped him as well."

"Does he mean it?"

He noticed that she was softening a bit.

"That is something you and only you can ascertain, but still in my opinion he does."

She just stared at a spot on the ground, lost in deep thought. Sakura got up patted her on the back, while Meilin gave a helpless look. She knew that Tomoyo and Eriol had broken up but Syaoran had never told her the real reason.

"Ah ahem…" Fay cleared his throat.

Syaoran raised his eyes.

"Shouldn't we be looking for him?"

"No need." Syaoran calmly replied.

Four pairs of astonished eyes goggled him.

"I think I know where he is."

* * *

The five stepped out of the car and looked at an old metallic gate and an arch with the words 'Zoshigaya Cemetery'. Syaoran stepped forward, now fully dressed, while the others gave each other a confused look, hunched their shoulders and followed him.

"You expect to find him in a graveyard?" Meilin questioned.

"If I know him well enough, then he will be here." Syaoran replied.

He led them through a winding way along the lines of graves, which included ones of some celebrities. It might have been broad daylight, but the eerie atmosphere did not fail to send a shiver along the troupe following Syaoran. They huddled together and keenly noticed any disturbance, ready on their toes to make a dash out at any instant.

And they almost bolted back when Syaoran suddenly stopped and exclaimed,

"I knew it!" With that he raced ahead and the group behind followed. They reached a huge white, marble tomb which had a delicately carved beautiful woman on the gravestone, her eyes were closed, hands pressed to her chest, long wavy hair and had a serene expression. Next to it lay a person, deeply asleep, his one hand holding on to the carved lady's arm and he was using his jacket as a blanket. Syaoran bent down and shook him,

"Eriol, wake up!"

Behind, the four look flabbergasted.

"He's got some serious guts to fall asleep in a graveyard." Meilin commented and the others nodded in agreement.

Eriol stirred, mumbled and finally got up, scratching his head.

"Syaoran", he spoke in disbelief," How did you know I was here?"

Syaoran smiled,

"You always remained a mommy's boy and you still are."

"Mommy's boy?" Sakura asked puzzled.

Syaoran stood up,

"You are standing in front of the grave of Emiko Hiiragizawa, Eriol's mother. And this is the place he feels the safest, next to his mother" He spoke in a solemn voice.

An incredulous look appeared on their faces but Eriol, even in such a situation, had his signature smile on. He got up and walked up to Tomoyo.

"You wanted to know why I had suddenly left that time, isn't it?" He spoke in an unusually calm tone.

Tomoyo just looked at him with wide eyes.

With a queer expression, he looked towards his mother's grave and spoke,

"The answer is right in front of you. I had to go to England to see my mother for one last time. And then…she left me…all alone…"

Nobody knew what to say in this situation, so Eriol continued,

"It was her wish to be buried back home, in Japan. So we brought her body here and…" he sobbed.

Fay placed his hand on Eriol's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Eriol had told this fact only to me and had made me promise to keep it to myself." Syaoran spoke.

Eriol looked at Tomoyo, teary eyed once again,

"Can you forgive me now?"

Tomoyo bit her lip, trapped in a mental dilemma of her own. Few seconds later she spoke,

"No…Not yet."

Eriol smiled, despite the tears,

"Thought so…"

"I can't forgive you just like that…you'll have to prove yourself."

"Anything you say…"

"Then you're my slave and you'll do what I say."

Eriol humbly bowed.

"That's a bit harsh, Tomoyo." Fay said, but she ignored.

"Oh, well then, let's head back." Syaoran declared and started moving.

They left in pairs- Tomoyo and Syaoran in front; Sakura and Meilin in the middle and Fay and Eriol in the last, sorting out their misunderstandings.

"Syaoran", Tomoyo started," I wanted to ask you this for a long time, how come your behavior with Sakura is totally different? I mean you're like a different person to her and a different person to others."

Sakura picked up her ears, highly curious and tried overhearing from behind.

"Oh, Sakura? She's like a younger sister to me. I mean at home my sisters made the word 'elder' clearly felt to me and Meilin; well…it's tough to think of her like that."

_Sister...? He takes me like a little sister? Hmm…so time to show some 'sisterly' love…_

Though not usually reckless, Sakura made an exception this time. She ran at full speed and leapt on to Syaoran's back, taking him by surprise.

"What the…Sakura?"

"Anything wrong with a sister showing a bit of affection?" She asked in a fake sweet voice.

Syaoran grinned,

"Pig…"

"Well, this pig wants a piggy back ride."

"Fine…"

He grabbed her from behind while she held on to his back and then Syaoran began running, Sakura on his back screaming in joy. The others just looked at them go away, gob smacked.

"What are we waiting for? Let's follow them!" And Meilin started chasing the two with the same enthusiasm.

"Hey…wait for us!"

Syaoran, with Sakura on his back reached on the sidewalk, both panting and laughing. He had never felt so relaxed and carefree. People around were looking at them, kids giggling, middle aged frowning and the elderly smiling, but they didn't care. Clutching their stomachs and leaning on each other, they laughed until tears came in their eyes.

"…Okay…alright…I'm okay…" He panted.

"That…was…fun." She spoke between laughs.

"Say that to my poor aching back", Syaoran spoke after catching his breath," You're one heavy pig!"

She pouted and lightly slapped his arm but then instantly broke out laughing.

Abruptly, Sakura stopped laughing. Something across the road drew her attention and she crossed to the other side. He saw that she was standing next to an elderly lady, speaking something,

"Do you want to cross the road, obaa-san?" She asked.

The lady, around 70, was hunched due to old age. She looked up and smiled,

"Yes dear, but these car drivers never stop and at this age it is quite tough to walk fast."

Sakura held the older lady's hand,

"Let me help you, obaa-san." And she slowly led her across the zebra crossing. Syaoran was looking at her all this time and he ran to her when she crossed the road,

"What happened, Sakura?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing. Obaa-san wanted to cross the road so I just went to help her out."

He smiled,

_That was quite considerate of her…and observant. Not many people notice this or rather pretend not to notice._

The old lady smiled once again,

"Thank you very much dear." She gratefully spoke.

"Oh no-no, it was nothing." Sakura spoke back.

The old lady looked at Syaoran,

"You two make a wonderful couple. I'm sure you'll have beautiful children." And then with a smile she turned and tottered away.

"N-No…" Sakura started but the old lady didn't seem to hear her.

Sakura turned to Syaoran, who now had a wide grin on his face.

Understanding the reason of his smile she said," She just misunderstood, okay! Just a mistake!"

"Oh I don't know, I think she was right about the beautiful kids part."

Sakura stuck her tongue out but he just smirked.

"And what's up with you being full of milk of human kindness?"

"I…" Sakura started.

"Milk? What milk?" Somebody spoke from behind.

Syaoran turned around to look at a panting Meilin and a tired Tomoyo behind her.

"Oh nothing, I was just talking about Sakura's milk of h…." And the rest was obscured by the loud honking of a truck.

"Sakura's milk?" Meilin exclaimed her eyes wide and Tomoyo too had a similar expression.

"N-No…"

"What's going on?" Came Fay's voice as the remaining two caught up with them.

"Syaoran wants Sakura's milk!" Meilin spoke in an almost scandalized tone.

"What!" Fay exclaimed while Eriol sniggered,

"I'm sure he'd love to have some. Mind sharing a bit with me?"

Syaoran glared at him,

"Shut Up! Meilin, how many times do I have to tell you to stop jumping to conclusions? I was saying milk of human kindness; it's a figure of speech."

"Oh…"

"But you wouldn't have minded the other, would you?" Eriol mischievously spoke.

Syaoran's glare became intense,

"I should have left you in the graveyard and let the dead make you one among them."

Whatever Eriol tried saying back was interrupted by the ringing of Syaoran's phone and walked off a bit to receive it. After an intense talking, involving raised voices and over expressive actions, Syaoran came back,

"Guys, we have a small change in plan."

"What happened?" they asked.

"Mom just gave me a job to do, so you guys go on ahead. I'll join you late that night. Tell Yamazaki about this, okay?"

"But the other arrangements?" Meilin asked.

"Don't worry, Eriol knows it and at the hotel the ICB guys would be there to receive you."

They nodded.

"Okay, then let's head back and get our final packing done."

* * *

Everyone knows that time flies when you need it the most and Sakura got a through taste of it. Packing clothes with Tomoyo was equally horrible as trying them out and they almost missed the flight had it not been for some daredevil driving of Tomoyo's driver. Now safely seated in her seat with her seat belt on, she thanked her lucky stars and prayed that they continued to be in favor of her. The plane jolted forward as it started and began picking up speed. She looked to her side to look at Tomoyo and the others and saw that they were all engaged in something. She turned other side to look out at the gleaming lights flashing out of the window.

_So here we go. On our way to step 2. Hope all goes well and we don't mess up anything or end up like last time. But this time I feel different. This time I feel that we, or atleast I will get something important. Oh how I wish that otou-san was here, he would have surely known what this feeling meant. Oh well…Nevermind. Right now, all I should think of is to clear step 2 smoothly. Yeah, I feel all pumped up, I feel Osaka calling out to me and I promise that I'll rock it!_

Sakura fist pumped, drawing weird looks from the fellow passengers. But she didn't care, her mind was set, if Osaka was calling out to her she would surely let shock waves loose through the city.

* * *

**Chapter 10, check! A milestone chapter for the story, I mean this is the TENTH chapter. So, as I said, this chapter was a bit longer and hope that explains the longer time gap. Also, this is the first Beta edited chapter so an equal share of the praises, if any, go to my Beta as well. Thanks for reading, hope you liked it and please do review and if you've already reviewed for the preview and the site restricts from reviewing this again, then anonymous review with your pen name is a way out (He...he...I just can't control it)**

**mse~**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm back! And no, this is not my ghost! Sorry for the late update-almost a month I think. But you know, exams and stuff like that made me keep this at a low priority. Anyways, thanks a lot for the reviews (keep 'em coming) and I hope that you don't feel that the story is drifting off to somewhere; the concert's coming up in the next chappie-which I promise won't take so long. Enjoy!**

**Tons of thanks to Moonlight919 for beta-ing!**

**R&R!

* * *

**

**WhyteRayne**

**Chapter:11

* * *

**

Twiddling his thumbs impatiently, Syaoran sat in a carpeted room. He was wearing a white checked shirt and black trousers with a black tie. His hair, for once, were properly combed and he wore rectangular frameless glasses. Anybody familiar with the real Syaoran would have fainted just by looking at him right now. He kinda looked like a really good-looking nerd. So here he was, waiting for his sister to come and then accompany her to that meeting. Well since he's sitting idle lets chat with him…

_Ahh, finally you're here…wait, it's only you. Sheesh is everyone in the world jobless. I mean look at you, don't you have a better job to do then poke into my private life…hey, hey, don't go away, atleast I have someone to talk to while I wait for my sister Sheifa. So here I am, stuck in this stupid room. You ask where I am. Well, I'm sitting in my 'office' waiting to go and attend the annual review meeting. My sister is coming from Germany just for this. Now if you don't have a life, not my problem but why drag me into this. All because I'm supposed to inherit this company. Oh, what were you asking? Why is my sister in Germany? Two reasons- First, she looks after the European interests of Li Corp. Second, she just can't fit in the eastern world. She believes that she was meant to be born as a white but due to some…now what did she say? Pigmentation error? Logistics Error?... anyways some error up there because of which she became yellow and hence was born as a Chinese. And I'm not racist; I just quoted what she says. So she hardly follows Chinese customs, studied in an English school, went to the US for her higher studies, speaks English better then Cantonese and has quite a bit of temper. No wonder she manages to force even mother at times. She's the strictest among my sisters and personally, I think _she_…_

The door to his office suddenly opened and in walked a tall woman. She had no expressions on her face, her hair were in a bob cut whose color was same as Syaoran's. He snapped up his head and immediately shut his mouth.

"It's been quite some time, Syaoran." She spoke in clear English.

"Y-Yes, two months to be precise." He stuttered.

"Well, that's gone. Now to work." And she handed him a file.

Syaoran took it from her and stupidly stared at it.

"It has everything you need to say there. Just keep a straight face and speak clearly."

Syaoran gulped. Somehow, when she said this it didn't seem easy anymore and he started feeling nervous.

Without casting him a second look, Sheifa turned around and exited the room. Syaoran obediently followed her.

When he entered the conference hall, the very size of the crowd gathered there made him feel weak in the knees. It wasn't just any meeting but a full press conference with hordes reporters with their cameras focused on to the stage where about half a dozen people were already sitting. In his mind, he imagined that he was on a concert stage and about to perform. This renewed his strength. On seeing Syaoran and Sheifa, the whole hall silenced. Sheifa went to the middle of the stage and, according to Syaoran, gave the coldest smile possible before regaining her stony face. Her lips moved but Syaoran couldn't understand what she was saying. She then nudged him forward and he finally got the cue. Stepping up on the podium, he adjusted the mike and opened the file.

"A very good evening to one and all. I, Xiao Lang Li, on behalf of Li Corp. welcome you to its Annual Review Meeting." His voice boomed.

The crowd applauded which Syaoran thought was unnecessary. He hadn't said a great thing, had he?

For the next fifteen minutes, Syaoran read the statistics and figures of the company, its policies etc. etc. After which he thanked and hurried down to his seat. Now it was Sheifa's turn to speak and she coolly got onto the podium and started.

Syaoran's phone vibrated in his pocket. He discreetly pulled it out and checked it. It was a text from Eriol,

'Reached Osaka. How r things on ur side?'

In reply, Syaoran started punching the keys,

'Bored to d core. Coming by d midngt flight' and sent it.

And from that moment, he was physically present but mentally absent.

* * *

Entering a tall silver-gray building which had the words 'Hilton' glowing on top, they made their way to the reception desk. Fay stepped forward to enquire from the female receptionist but Eriol stopped him and stepped in instead.

"Hey…" Fay protested," Tomoyo is here, not now." He whispered.

"I know what to do. Remember, Syaoran has already told me."

Eriol turned to the receptionist who immediately plastered on a smile.

"Welcome to Hilton Osaka, how may I help you?" she politely asked.

"Ah…we wanted to meet the ICB officials. We actually are a music band and they have supposedly booked us here."

"Oh, so you are for the ICB Zonals. May I have the name of your band?"

"It's WhyteRayne."

She typed the name on the computer and then a few clicks later,

"Everything is in order, these are your keys. You have four rooms. You luggage will be sent up."

"Thanks…" and he took the card keys from her.

"Enjoy your stay!" And she bowed.

Returning back with the keys, he saw Fay, Sakura and Tomoyo looking around the lobby.

"Alright, all done. Let's go up."

They started shuffling ahead.

"Wait a sec…" Eriol suddenly spoke," Where is Meilin?"

They turned and saw her sitting on the sofa, her head dangling forward causing her hair to veil her face. Apparently she had dozed off.

Fay shook her awake,

"Wha-who…" she woke up, startled.

"Get up Meilin. Let's go to our rooms."

Meilin stood up, rubbed her eyes and mumbled,

"I'm so damn tired and sleepy. I just want a bed right now."

They dragged Meilin to the thirtieth floor, just their luck!

Finally reaching in front of their rooms, Eriol swiped the card and opened the door to a room.

"Wait; shouldn't we decide how we're going to share the rooms first?" Fay spoke.

"You're right…"

But Meilin pushed forward, grabbed the card from Eriol's hand and entered the second last room,

"Well I don't care. I'm too sleepy. You guys decide I'm hitting the sack. Oyasumi."

And she banged the door close while the others just gaped,

"Okay…"

"Anyways…let's start." Fay said and took the keys from Eriol.

"Now, I think it can be Yamazaki and Syaoran in one room, Tomoyo and Sakura in the other and me and Eriol in the last and…"

"No…"Tomoyo interrupted, "Eriol will be in my room."

Their eyes popped out.

"Tomoyo-chan…" Sakura started.

"He is my slave, so he'll be in my room to serve me."

She grabbed all the cards from Fay, opened a room, gave the remaining cards to Sakura and yanked Eriol in, slamming the door behind him.

Once again their hatches were open.

"Okay…"

"So, umm…looks like you'll have to sleep with Meilin, Sakura. I'll sleep alone."

"No way!" Yamazaki suddenly protested, "I'm not going to sleep next to Syaoran."

"But why?"

"Because…'cause…'cuz…I'm scared"

"What?"

"See, today is a full moon. And what does Syaoran mean? Wolf, right."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying staying in a room next to wolf boy on a full moon night is dangerous." He tried finishing the sentence with a spooky tone but only managed a quivering voice.

Both Sakura and Fay sweat dropped.

"That was one of the lamest stories of yours."

"I know…" And Yamazaki too grabbed a card opened the door and went in.

"Okay…"

"Fine, Sakura you go to Meilin's room and I'll bear this idiot. Syaoran can stay alone in the last room. I'll tell the receptionist about it."

"Alright…"

And Fay entered his room, leaving Sakura alone in the corridor. She sighed and walked to Meilin's door. She was about to ring the bell when,

_Wait a sec, Meilin is Syaoran's Fiancée. I think Syaoran should be with her. After all they are meeting after a long time and they had hardly any time together in Tokyo._

She debated for a couple of minutes and then finally decided to sleep alone in the next room. She opened the last room and entered it.

_Meilin would be soo happy. I can just imagine her face when she sees Syaoran next to her in the morning._

She squeezed her eyes shut in happiness. Suddenly she heard the loud banging of the door next room, Meilin's room. Concerned, she stepped out and saw an astonished bellboy standing in front. She realized that it was the result of him disturbing Meilin's slumber. He turned to her and immediately put on a polite expression,

"You luggage, ma'am."

Sakura picked up her bags,

"Thank you!" And she returned to her room.

Sighing, she placed her stuff in a corner and looked around the room. She saw that it was a cozy room with a TV, two single beds, a coffee maker and other amenities which you usually find in such hotels. Leaping onto one of the beds, she felt the soft mattress and pillow comforting her and her body immediately relaxed.

_This feels so good…I just feel that nothing wrong can happen…

* * *

_

Eriol sat on the basin top, wondering what to do. But what exactly happened?

_You ask what happened. I'll tell you, how would you feel if somebody first invites you to their room to share it and then tells you that the bedroom was theirs and the bathroom was yours. Well, that's exactly what happened. When Tomoyo had pulled me in I sort of got excited, thinking that something as up. I stood in the middle of the room while she changed. Then she called me next to the bathroom, I got really excited. She was just in her nightdress. I stepped in front and she called me in. And then with a smile she pointed at the wet bathtub and said,' This is your bed. Use the towels if you feel chilly. Good night.' And she slammed the bathroom door, locking it from outside. So here I am, stuck in a bathroom a.k.a my bedroom._

Sighing, he used a towel to wipe the bathtub dry, used another towel as a sheet, removed his shoes and specs and entered the bathtub. He obviously couldn't lie down straight in it so he curled his legs and lay down.

_How pathetic…I just can't express my feelings right now…things a man has to do for his love._

Sighing once again, he closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep, ignoring his discomfort.

* * *

Rubbing his eyes and trying to stifle a yawn, Syaoran entered the same silver-gray building. His hair were now messed up as usual, his tie was absent and his shirt was no longer tucked in, in short, he was back to looking like the real Syaoran. His wrist watch showed the time as 2:07AM. The meeting had lasted way longer than he expected and he had almost dozed off in front of thousands of people, not counting the ones who were watching it live on TV. His sister left in the same whirlwind manner as she had come but not before giving him a lecture about being responsible and be ready soon to take over the reins of the company. He didn't give a damn. But of course, he obviously couldn't say that to her and just meekly nodded. After she left, he rushed to the airport and barely managed to catch the last flight for the day…or night to Osaka. Wearily, he made his way to the reception desk,

"Excuse me"

"Ah…Welcome to Hilton Osaka, how may I help you." The receptionist spoke, quite enthusiastically at this time.

"Umm…I think my friends have checked-in here…I mean the members of the band WhyteRayne."

"Oh, yes…WhyteRayne. Just give me a moment." And she started clicking the mouse. A few seconds later,

"Your friends are on the 30th floor. There are four rooms for you all. I have been told to give you the key to the last room." She swiped a card key through a card reader," Here…Your room no. is 3013. Your luggage will be sent up I hope you have a pleasant stay." And she bowed.

Syaoran nodded, pulled the card key and hurried to the elevators. But as luck would have, he wasn't the only late arrival. After almost 12 stops, he reached floor 30. The bell boy was already waiting in front of the room with his luggage. He thanked him and gave him a generous tip, which the bell boy gladly accepted. Swiping the card, he opened the door. He noticed that the night lamp was on, so he tiptoed into the room. Finding one of the beds occupied, he realized that someone was already sleeping here. Slowly, he made his way next to the bed and saw that the covers were drawn upon the person's face but despite the darkness he could see long strands of hair poking out.

_Hmm…it must be Meilin. Well then better be quiet unless I want my head to be bitten off._

He discreetly made his way across the room, freshened up and changed into his pajamas in the bathroom. Once again, he quietly stepped out and slipped under the covers of the vacant bed.

_Ahh…after a day of hard and useless work this feels like heaven. Oh yes…_

He further snuggled into the bed, letting sleep wash over him.

It must have been around a couple of hours later that he suddenly felt very hot and woke up drenched in sweat. Carefully stepping out of the bed, he checked the air-conditioner control and found that it had switched off.

_Who switched it off...? Wait a second; was it even on when I came in? Nevermind…_

He switched it on and immediately felt the cool blast of air on his wet skin. He savored the feeling for few moments and then realized that his pajamas were wet. No… he didn't piss in his pants, it was due to the sweat. He opened the button of the shirt but stopped midway. He cast a glance towards Meilin's bed.

_Should I sleep without my...Bah, it's just Meilin, she wouldn't mind. I used to be half naked during our training._

So he peeled off his shirt and slid back in his bed with only his pants on. He lied down and closed his eyes_…_Tick_…_Tock_…_Tick_…_Tock_…_Okay so he wasn't able to fall asleep. He sat up and scratched his head, wondering what to do. Finally, he decided to switch on the TV, lowering the volume so as to not wake up Meilin. He put on a movie, and what sorts of movie come late night? Yup, it was a hot, steamy and raunchy movie. Well, Syaoran is a guy and he too needs his share of fun. Casting quick glances to his neighboring bed, he slightly cranked up the volume, his other finger resting at the power button incase Meilin woke up. Well, Meilin didn't wake up but the person next room did. She heard the moans and groans and tossed in her bed muttering about how some couples just can't control it. She stuffed her face in the pillow to block the sound and then dozed off once again.

It was just at the scene when the boy was about to…wait, this is T-rated fic. Sorry, so the revised statement is- It was just at the scene when the boy was about to _***Censored***_, Syaoran heard a thumping sound and immediately he switched the TV off. His breath was hitched and his heart beat was fast.

"Otou-san…Daddy…mmm…" a voice mumbled from below.

Realizing that Meilin had fallen off the bed, he jumped down and pulled her close.

"Meilin, you okay?" he inquired.

"Mmm…daddy…please…where…are…you…?" she slurred.

Syaoran smiled. Now who would have imagined Meilin to be a Daddy's daughter? He felt her arms around him and she relaxed. Gently lifting her up, he took her to her bed but she wouldn't release her grip around him. Accepting defeat he took her to his bed and lay next to her, almost hugging her. He felt her press against him and a sudden wave of nostalgia overwhelmed him. He smiled; never had he thought that Meilin had a soft side to her. He never thought that she was so small and how nice it felt to hold her. He placed his chin on her head and deeply breathed in her scent.

_Hmm…looks like she has changed her shampoo…or maybe her scent? She does smell quite different yet familiar._

Shaking his head, he closed his eyes and surprisingly fell asleep.

* * *

Stretching her arms out wide, the raven-haired, amethyst-eyed beauty sat on her bed and yawned. The clock beside her showed the time as 8:23AM. Scratching his head, she got off her bed and thumped the bathroom door.

"Oi…get up and get out!" She shouted. A series of grunts, thumps and other such noises could be heard from the other side. Finally the door opened revealing a disheveled Eriol with bloodshot eyes.

"I need to use the bathroom so get out." Tomoyo opened the main door and pointed out.

So Eriol groaned and slowly made his way out, he couldn't protest since he was her slave. Outside, he thumped the next door, not caring about who occupied the room. Out came a sleepy Fay, rubbing his eyes.

"Eriol, what are…?" But Eriol just pushed him aside and entered the room muttering,

"Bathroom…"

Meanwhile, Tomoyo freshened and groomed herself and was ready to meet her friend…or rather wake her up. Calling up Fay she asked,

"Ohayo Fay, could you tell me where Sakura-chan is sleeping?"

"In the next room, with Meilin." He mumbled, still sleepy.

"Okay, thanks." And she cut the call. Stepping out of her room, she knocked at next door. After almost a minute of patient waiting, Meilin's head poked out, her hair all messed up.

"Oh…sorry to wake you up Meilin but is Sakura up?" Tomoyo asked.

"I don't know…" she replied, stifling a yawn. But then her eyes suddenly went wide," Wait…isn't she with you?" Meilin asked.

"No, I asked Fay and he told me that she was with you."

"But I'm alone…look" And she opened the door revealing a messed up bed and another one practically untouched.

"Then if she's not in your room, not in mine and not in Fay's then…"

Both their eyes darted to the last room.

"I need to find out…" Meilin rushed in.

Frantically looking around for something she shouted,

"Chainsaw! I need a Chainsaw!"

"How do you expect to find a chainsaw under the bed?"

Meilin stopped, her mind devising other plans to get into the room. After a few moments, she ran towards the window and threw it open to reveal a sight which could make even the strongest dizzy. 30 stories below, the everything on the world looked like tiny specks.

"Meilin, don't be crazy! Even spider-girl wouldn't attempt something like jumping out to the next window!"

"You're right…"

Finally she ran to the telephone and almost ripped the receiver off.

"Hello, this 3012. I need the key to 3013. What? You can't give me! We're in the same group…What? You still can't give me! Look, it's an emergency! You better send that key else I'll report this to the manager!"

"N-No, ma'am. I'll send it immediately." The receptionist hastily cut the phone.

Meilin ran outside and saw that Tomoyo was knocking at the next door.

"No…not like that…here let me show you…"

Meilin stood in front of the door, one hand banging it and the other ringing the doorbell. But even such a racket got no response from inside. By now a bell boy had managed to get the key. Meilin immediately snatched it, practically shooed the bell boy and swiped the card with such force that it almost snapped and barged in. Her eyes immediately searched for two occupants but saw only one bed occupied. This calmed her a bit. Tomoyo slowly walked in and looked at the bed.

"It's only Syaoran…"

"SYAORAN!" Meilin shouted. Finally, he stirred, turning his head towards them he cracked open an eye.

"Meilin…please don't disturb me." He mumbled and snuggled inside.

Meilin marched up to the bed and pulled the covers halfway and an eye-popping sight beheld her.

There slept Syaoran, his chest naked and next to him was…Sakura in a pure white silky nightie.

Annoyed, Syaoran opened his eyes and saw Meilin holding the covers,

"Meilin, what…" He stopped.

_Wait a sec, if Meilin is standing there then who is…_

He looked down; saw Sakura shifting beneath and then realization dawned upon him. It wasn't Meilin who was sleeping in the other bed last night, it was Sakura!

Everyone in the room was dumbfounded as Sakura turned her face and buried it in Syaoran's chest to shield from the light. That's when she felt the presence of someone else next to her. Peeping out of one eye, she looked up and saw Syaoran's thunderstruck face. Immediately she twirled her face and looked around to see both Tomoyo and Meilin with the same expression. Lastly, she saw Syaoran's bare chest and then it sunk in. Now what was left to do? Right, SCREAM!

The scream was loud enough to draw the remaining three boys and now they too stood there stunned.

Meilin was the first one to find her voice,

"Syaoran…Explain!"

"I swear…I thought that it was you and I…"

"Oh, you thought it was me? Well, that's fine because I always sleep in your arms, ne?" Meilin spoke, sarcasm dripping.

Syaoran gulped, while Sakura was still recovering from the shock.

"Sakura-chan…you okay?" Tomoyo asked in a low voice. Sakura was still shivering a bit but was yet sitting next to Syaoran.

"I'm okay…but how come Syaoran is in my room."

"I told you, I thought that it was Meilin sleeping. How was I supposed to know who was sleeping where?" he argued.

"Actually, Syaoran isn't at fault." Fay spoke.

"What!" Meilin shouted.

"Sakura, we'd decided that you'd sleep in Meilin's room, didn't we?" Fay asked.

Sakura meekly nodded.

"I thought Meilin would be happy if Syaoran was next to her…"

"But you didn't inform the receptionist, I suppose."

Sakura's mouth opened to say something but she stopped. Now they realized the cause of all this confusion.

"But those…sounds." Meilin slowly spoke.

"Sounds? What sounds?"

"In the middle of the night I heard…umm…moans and groans from the next room. I had presumed that it was some couple who were…err…Nevermind, the thing is…" She turned to Syaoran," How do you explain that?"

A slight red tinge appeared on Syaoran's cheeks and he is not among the blushing kind so a collective gasp ran through the gasp.

"You didn't…"

"Oh my gosh…"

"Woohoo…"

Syaoran stammered,

"Well…y'know…I'm not like Eriol…I don't do it always…it was just that last night…I never had an opportunity before…so, I…ehehehe…"

He suddenly felt a hand grab his chin and his eyes were lined to emerald ones.

"Syaoran, this time I demand you…..." She spoke, her voice commanding.

Syaoran gulped.

"I couldn't help it…I just switched on the TV and a movie was going on and…it was an X-rated one…I tried keeping the volume low and…"

"Wait…those sounds were from the TV?" Meilin questioned.

"Umm…yeah."

A shared sigh of relief spread through the group.

"Man, don't scare us like that…" Yamazaki spoke.

"Scare you…? You mean you guys aren't mad at me?"

"Dude, you're 18. Legally you can watch it." Eriol said," But you sure you only _watched_ it not_ did_ it?"

Syaoran's face lost all its fear and immediately had a scowl on.

"Oh so that's what you were thinking. You think that in the middle of the night Sakura and me…."

"Nevermind, everything is sorted out." Tomoyo cut in.

The thought of what it implied kept roaming around Sakura's mind.

_Me and Syaoran...Me and Syaoran together...as one...how would it feel?...I wish I..._

She shook her head.

_No...its wrong..._

She tried denying all she wanted but the sight and feel of his bare chest, his scent, his warmth was plastered in her mind, making her crave for more.

_Gosh...what's happening to me...am I falling for him...? am I falling for someone...again?_

* * *

So as the matter settled down, they all went back to their rooms with Eriol being an exception-he had to use Fay and Yamazaki's and Sakura used Tomoyo's. They all met down in the restaurant for breakfast around an hour later.

"So what's the plan from here?" Meilin asked.

"Well, we have around a week before the concert so I was thinking of going around the town for today and start practicing tonight." Syaoran proposed.

"That sounds good" Fay commented.

"Yay, a whole day to ourselves." Tomoyo rejoiced.

"What're you gonna do?" Yamazaki asked.

"C'mon Sakura, Meilin join me", Tomoyo grabbed their hands and," SHOPPING!"

The boys groaned.

"Hey, be a sport. Come along and help us out."

"But…"

"NO buts…we all are going shopping. As your costume designer I order you!"

The boys mumbled while Sakura whined a bit but Tomoyo prevailed. So off they went to shopping and well when the whole group is out in the open together…incidents always happen. You just have to wait and watch.

* * *

**3:13AM, that's what my computer clock shows as I finally finish the chapter. Whew, this one took a lot of time though more time may not imply good quality but still…**

**Okay, so I hope that you liked it and please do review :) (Kinda becoming a cliché, I know)**

**msé~**


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